Leonardo DiCaprio Graces GQ Magazine

Leonardo DiCaprio is on the cover of GQ Magazine after being named one of the GQ Men of the Year.Named one of the Men of the Year 2008, Leonardo DiCaprio lends his smoldering good looks to the cover of GQ Magazine. He sat down for an interview where he discussed his upcoming movie, Revolutionary Road, as well as past works, and how he feels about the paparazzi.

Revolutionary Road marks the on-screen reunion of Leo and Kate Winslet, who fell in love at the tender age of 20 in the Titanic. Leo says he and Kate remained friendly after filming Titanic, so doing love scenes in their new movie together definitely had a different dynamic. He describes the second experience as a “new level of intimacy,” and said they took a “hands on approach” to playing a married couple. (Sounds sexy, no?)

Leonardo also delves into past works, touching on how he has now worked with acclaimed director Martin Scorsese four times, and stating that, while he has learned an enormous amount from him, he doesn’t go into films looking to learn, but rather to bring as much passion and intensity to the table as Scorsese does. When talking about what he has learned over the years about acting, he said:

“You have to take full responsibility for your character and for yourself on-screen. You can have the relationship with a director where the director shapes it, but you have to own it. I didn’t understand that when I started out. Then, it was always, Let me go to the director and see what he wants. As opposed to bringing something to the table and then having that open for discussion. You have to be able to shock—well, not shock, but surprise the director and sometimes go in a direction he didn’t expect.”

In one of my favorite parts of the article, Leonardo states that, while he doesn’t exactly regret previous decisions around what roles to turn down, he really loves the movie Boogie Nights and is sad he was not a part of it. Apparently Leo turned down a role in that film to be in Titanic. While he doesn’t say he would go back and change that decision, he did admit that it would have taken his career in a whole different direction. He also says that he owes the roles he is currently getting to the decision he made to play the ill-fated Jack in the doomed love story.

GQ asked Leo if he felt the Academy owed him an Oscar at this point, given his involvement in award winning films such as Titanic, Blood Diamond, The Departed, and The Aviator, and the early buzz surrounding Revolutionary Road. Leo doesn’t think he is owed anything, stating that he goes into each film just looking to prove something to himself. He also got self-conscious when GQ pointed out that he had been compared to a young Robert DeNiro.

Leo also talked paparazzi during the interview. Most pictures snapped by the paps show him ducking his head and hiding behind baseball caps with skill I haven’t seen matched by any other celebrity.

I’m not in the tabloids anymore…I’ve watched the culture change. I’m old hat. And I love it. You know what it is with me? This is something I’d like to clarify. I’ve heard people say, ‘Because you hide, it makes you seem ungrateful.’ The mere fact that these—I’ll use the word piles—are earning money from exploiting my image is the only reason I hide myself or am not a photo-friendly person. I do not like the way they conduct themselves. I think they’re disrespectful and dangerous. The reason I don’t pose or smile or that I seem mad is that I don’t want them to make a living off my private life.