Robert De Niro’s first impression of Leonardo DiCaprio: ‘That kid had something special’

Los Angeles, Feb 12 : Veteran star Robert De Niro knew Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio was special as soon as they met, and championed him to producers.

The pair first met when DiCaprio auditioned for the 1993 drama This Boys Life, which also starred De Niro.

DiCaprio had not auditioned for the central role of Tobias, De Niro told the producer how impressed he was by the young actors audition.

He told PEOPLE: "I said to Art Linson, the producer, I said, ‘Art, that kid was really, it was interesting.’ I didnt push it.I just said, ‘That kid had something special,’ and then they turned around and wound up using Leo."

The 80-year-old star and DiCaprio went on to work with each other on the 1996 drama Marvin’s Room and the 2023 western crime drama film Killers of the Flower Moon, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Speaking about their Killers of the Flower Moon characters, where he played the nephew of De Niros character, DiCaprio recently told Deadline: "I happened to have done a film [titled] This Boys Life where I had an abusive stepfather in De Niro.So it was this insanely coincidental, full circle, sort of similar relationship.

"It felt like I was stepping into the same or a similar character 30 years later, grown up.(De Niro) was still (playing) this abusive character.He was the abusive stepfather.

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"Developing Ernest (DiCaprios character) was interesting because out of all the stuff that I researched — all his writings, all the testimony, speaking to relatives in Oklahoma — the one resounding consistent element was that this man was quite slow and easily manipulated, that (De Niros character) Hale had this mental stronghold over him."

He also spoke about the thrill he got from working with De Niro and director Martin Scorsese and the awe he felt at the "dual relationship between actor and filmmaker."

He said: "Its all we spoke about in our younger age.And to be able to have gotten to have my first opportunity working with Mr.De Niro on This Boy’s Life, and then have him refer me to Marty saying, Here’s this kid, I just worked with him. And then having done, what is it, six films with (Scorsese) now? Something like that."

"And then 30 years later now, getting to work with both of them, my two sort of cinematic heroes, and creating this entire story and narrative in these characters was, needless to say, one of the highlights of my entire career and life.

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