Entertainer of the Year Leo DiCaprio Reflects With Martin Scorsese on Making Movies With Soul

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As a movie fan, it’s always fascinating to see how creative partnerships work, and Leo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese are a legendary duo. They’ve worked together so many times, and they’re actually good friends too! Leo recently told TIME that making The Wolf of Wall Street with Marty was the most fun and free-spirited experience of his career – he’d never seen Scorsese so happy on set. So, when TIME named Leo their 2025 Entertainer of the Year, it made perfect sense for him to sit down with Scorsese onstage at their New York event on December 10th and just talk about movies and their process.

Before TIME announced its Person of the Year, “A Year in TIME” included interviews with Neal Mohan, named 2025 CEO of the Year, and athlete A’ja Wilson. The special also featured a performance by the KPop group Demon Hunters, who were named Breakthrough of the Year.

At the end of the evening, Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese discussed their careers and long-standing collaboration. They also revealed plans for their seventh film together—a ghost story called What Happens at Night—which will begin filming in February. This project follows their previous successful films: Killers of the Flower Moon, The Wolf of Wall Street, Shutter Island, The Departed, The Aviator, and Gangs of New York.

Leonardo DiCaprio considers acting a long-term commitment, not a quick race, and has created an impressive body of work, including seven Oscar nominations and one win. He’s always had a deep respect for director Martin Scorsese, even acknowledging him when accepting his Best Actor Oscar in 2016 for his role in The Revenant, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Leonardo DiCaprio shared with Martin Scorsese that the lessons he learned working with him continue to influence his collaborations with other directors, such as Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson’s upcoming 2025 film, One Battle After Another, is inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland and explores the themes of 1960s radicalism. DiCaprio plays a former revolutionary in the film, and both the movie and his performance are already generating Oscar buzz for next year.

I remember when I first met Martin Scorsese – it was right after Gilbert Grape. I was only 18, leaving a party, and he just stopped me to say he liked my work. That was the beginning, and honestly, the way we work together has really evolved naturally over the years.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese began their creative partnership while filming the famously complex Gangs of New York. By the time they collaborated on The Wolf of Wall Street – a project DiCaprio persuaded Scorsese to take on – they had developed a strong trust and could comfortably discuss their ideas and the film’s direction. Like any close working relationship, they’ve learned to understand each other’s viewpoints. DiCaprio explained that Scorsese is a very detail-oriented director, but over time, DiCaprio has learned when there’s room for changes and when it’s best to stick to the original plan.

I recently spoke with Scorsese, and he stressed a very particular approach to his films. He said there will be moments where he needs actors to hit specific marks, and that’s non-negotiable. However, he also made it clear that ultimately, he wants performers to connect with the heart of the story and allow that genuine emotion to shine through. It’s a balance, really – precision alongside a willingness to let the film breathe and find its own soul.

Each movie has a unique emotional core, depending on the specific story it tells. Even when films like The Departed and The Wolf of Wall Street deal with similar themes of lost morality, the characters’ individual journeys, what drives them, and their values ultimately shape the final outcome.

DiCaprio explained that for Marty, the story itself isn’t the most important thing. He prioritizes understanding what drives a character, letting that guide his performance, and doesn’t worry too much about how the plot unfolds. He then told Scorsese that he deeply appreciates Scorsese’s consistent faith in him to embody complex characters and explore their inner lives, finding that collaborative process incredibly rewarding.

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2025-12-11 11:06