Back when Leonardo DiCaprio was a young actor in the ‘90s, he worked with a lot of veteran actors, like Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Gene Hackman and more. As the Oscar winner turned 50 on November 11th, he can now be in a position where he can collaborate with upcoming young actors. Here’s how DiCaprio allegedly feels about co-starring with younger actors, and how his Don’t Look Up co-star Jennifer Lawrence helped his mindset.
Many know that Leonardo DiCaprio’s frequent collaborator is director Martin Scorsese. However, a source in inTouch has said that the Titanic actor has allegedly been so impressed by Emma Stone and husband Dave McCary’s production company, Fruit Tree, that the 50-year-old would like to work on projects alongside them. Per the source:
Leo is finally taking the next generation seriously and making overtures toward working with more stars who are quite a bit younger than him after resisting the idea for years. The breakthrough seems to be his successful team-up with Jennifer Lawrence in Don’t Look Up! in 2021.
Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up (which is streaming on your Netflix subscription) had Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play two astronomers trying to warn the Earth about an impending comet. Critics may have been divided by the Netflix movie, but it went on to be nominated for four Oscars and four Golden Globes, and also won Best Original Screenplay at the 74th Writers Guild of America Awards. The political satire movie also became one of Netflix’s most popular original movies in being the streamer’s second most-watched within 28 days of release. With great accomplishments like that, I can’t blame DiCaprio for allegedly wanting to tag-team with the next generation of talent.
By the time Don’t Look Up‘s production was over, inTouch’s source said that Leonardo DiCaprio reportedly had been trying to find another project he could work on with Jennifer Lawrence ever since. Considering the budding chemistry the two had in the Netflix comedy, it feels great to know that DiCaprio was taken enough with the actress to work with her again. That’s especially considering that the source claims The Revenant star used to make it his mission to star alongside veteran actors, but is allegedly changing his tune for an upcoming 2025 release:
In Leo’s upcoming film this year, One Battle After Another, he’s sharing the screen for significant periods of time with Alana Haim, who is also more or less a generation younger than him. It’s all about respect for Leo, in the sense that he just can’t and has never been able to work opposite actors he doesn’t view as total giants. For years, that meant turning to that older generation of actors like Robert DeNiro, Russell Crowe and even Brad Pitt as costars, but Leo is finally loosening up and realizing that he is one of those old guys now, and it wouldn’t be productive to keep pairing himself up with all these legends of yesteryear anymore.
What a great point. When up-and-coming actors get to work alongside the greats, it’s an opportunity to see all of the talent they can bring out working with very experienced professionals. Now Leonardo DiCaprio is in the shoes of the veterans who came before him. Getting to work with young stars like Licorice Pizza’s Alana Haim and Star’s Teyana Taylor in One Battle After Another allows him to pay that experience forward.
DiCaprio may not be getting any younger, but the source alleges the Gangs of New York actor isn’t afraid of that. With claims that DiCaprio still plans to stay an A-lister even as he’s getting older, he reportedly wants to change which type of projects he’s aiming for as well as who he’d like to share the screen with:
Leo can still get away with playing somebody in his late thirties or early forties, but he’s also a realist and doesn’t have a Peter Pan syndrome where he’s afraid to get old. He’s embracing his age and he wants to collaborate with the leading stars who are younger than him — it’s a very smart and evolved strategy!
This alleged change in Leonardo DiCaprio’s tune is making me very excited. While we’re used to seeing the talented actor playing troubled men or characters of wealth, DiCaprio’s aging could mean getting to see him take on more father roles or even mentors. His roles may have always been versatile, but I have a feeling we’re going to see him continue to evolve as an actor and help his young co-stars evolve too.
After a source alleged that 50-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio would like to work with younger co-stars after his successful collaboration with Jennifer Lawrence, I’m sold! Through new partnerships with upcoming talent, I hope he’ll be able to impart sage wisdom like he gave to Austin Butler for Elvis and to Timothée Chalamet about the career rules he lives by. Make sure to watch DiCaprio’s next phase of teaming up with his younger co-stars in One Battle After Another, in theaters on September 26th.