Following the storming success of "Titanic", Danny Boyle's "The Beach" turned out to be something of a damp squib for Hollywood golden boy Leonardo DiCaprio. Now, after two years on sabbatical, Leo is out to prove his manhood in Martin Scorsese's much anticipated epic, "Gangs of New York".
What drew you in to doing this project?
It was a unique time in history. A part of our history I never learned about. America was saying, bring us your hungry, bring us your poor, and then they were persecuted. It tells the story at such a primal level. I didn't realise that, at the time, New York was essentially shacks. Shanties.
Your character and the character of Bill the Butcher played by Daniel Day-Lewis are the two central characters of the movie. How was it working with Daniel?
Being able to work with Daniel Day-Lewis, who's such an inspiration to so many young actors and who is so committed to his roles and his characters, was a huge thrill for me. It was such a great experience working with him, you know. Bill the Butcher is an unbelievably complex dream character.
It was a very long shoot, wasn't it? How did that affect you?
You know, at the eight month mark, Marty asked me: "How are you kid? Are you all right? Are you tired?" I said: "No. I'm ready to go another nine months". And that's how I really felt.
So what was it about working for Scorsese that boosted you so much?
I could go into great length and great detail. You know it was everything I expected and more. It was an unbelievable experience. There are very few filmmakers whose films you want to watch repeatedly, over and over again, because of the acute attention to detail and how immersed you feel in the world he creates. You know, working with him, you just go for broke every time. But at the end of the day his word is golden and you have to trust that what he sees for your character is going to be perfect for what's on film. I'm so proud of this movie and I think it really captures what we wanted to say.
