Miramax
Martin Scorsese made an appearance on GQ’s wonderful “Breaks Down Their Most Iconic Films” series, and obviously, the legendary filmmaker had tons of movies to talk about.
One of the most interesting tidbits, though — of which there are many — is when he touched on Gangs of New York and discussed the differences between Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis, widely considered to be two of the greatest actors of all time.
According to Scorsese, Day-Lewis is the sort of method actor we’ve long heard about, as he’ll remain in character for the duration of his time on set.
“Daniel Day is a very specific and a very intense actor. What I love about working with him, is that Daniel has a thing where, if he starts, he stays in that character — people think it’s kind of a mystique — but it really makes sense,” Scorsese said.
“Because if I’m talking to Bill the Butcher, and in between takes, it’s Daniel… I’m still talking to Bill. He stays in that character. We’re not playing. Well, we’re playing it. But we’re living it, so he’s very good that way.”
Leo DiCaprio, on the other hand, is virtually the opposite, Scorsese says, as most of his performance comes from the preparation he does before shooting.
“DiCaprio is another way entirely. He comes at a character from every possible angle, and we find that with Leo, most of the work is done before we shoot.”
Scorsese’s latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, will be hitting movie theaters in the United States on Friday, October 20. In addition to Leonardo DiCaprio, the film also stars Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow, and more.
As for the 66-year-old Day-Lewis, he’s been retired for six years now, having last appeared in a film in 2017 when he starred in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread.