When you are as big of an actor as Leonardo DiCaprio is, you can be picky when it comes to which roles you choose to do. The 46-year-old will be starring in Adam McKay’s Netflix comedy ‘Don’t Look Up’ alongside Jennifer Lawrence . It’s been said that DiCaprio actually took quite a long time deciding if he would take on this role.
© GettyImagesThe film is about two astronomers touring the country to warn the population of a comet that will destroy the planet, according to Indie Wire. The director spoke to MTV’s ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast about the film and how long it actually took DiCaprio to sign on.
When asked how McKay landed two huge movie stars to act in his film he said,“I’ve known Jen for awhile. One of the first meetings she ever did in Los Angeles after her first movie was with me when she was like 17-years-old, maybe 18-years-old. She worshipped ‘Step Brothers,’ so when her agent asked who she wanted to meet…they prob weren’t happy to hear the answer: the guy who did ‘Step Brothers.‘” The director said he always had Lawrence in mind for her role.
In regards to how ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ actor signed on, McKay said he didn’t think there was a shot he’d get DiCaprio in his film. “I think he’s amazing and I love his work, but I just thought there’s no way he’s going to do this because if I could only work with Martin Scorsese, I would only work with Martin Scorsese,” McKay said.
“I would be Martin Scorsese’s assistant on set. So why would he do this with me? But as it turns out he really loved the script. We went back and forth on it. It was about a four-to-five month process with us just kicking around ideas. We took a break for the quarantine, and lo and behold once we figured out a theoretically safe way to shoot this movie, he was in. I couldn’t believe it. It’s no surprise he’s fabulous in the movie.”
“He’s really funny. Really grounded. It’s a great mix and it was perfect with Jen Lawrence, who is the same way. She’s crazy funny but grounded. When you had those two as our main people, the style of the movie was set,” the director said during the podcast.
