Leonardo DiCaprio said he is "slowing down a bit" in his career as he enters his fifties, though the Academy Award winner has no plans to step away from acting altogether.
At the Sept. 8 Hollywood premiere of "One Battle After Another" at the TCL Chinese Theatre, the 50-year-old actor told People that he intends to be more selective about the projects he takes on.
"I'm slowing down a bit," DiCaprio said. "When these opportunities come up, I mean, I can't say no," he added, referencing his collaboration with writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson on the new film.
DiCaprio added that working with Anderson was a longtime goal.
"I think anytime would've been the right time, to be honest," he said. "Ever since I met Paul early on and I saw 'Boogie Nights,' I've been an obsessive fan of his work, watched all his movies."
He credited Anderson with creating films that leave a lasting impression. "His films ruminate in my mind — they’re conversation pieces with my friends. They last," DiCaprio said.
The actor also reflected on the kind of work that matters most to him at this stage of his career.
"Awards can come and go, accolades, box office can come and go," he said. "But those pieces of art, that you still talk about and still think about and still question. Those are the films that we strive for as an actor. And Paul is the dude of our generation that does them."
The remarks follow comments DiCaprio made in an Esquire interview last month, in which he addressed turning 50 and the perspective it brought.
Asked how old he feels emotionally, he answered, "Thirty-two," later clarifying, "emotionally 35."
He said the milestone made him want to be more direct and waste less time.
"Well, it creates a feeling like you have a desire to just be more honest and not waste your time," DiCaprio said. "I can only imagine how the next few decades are going to progress."
DiCaprio pointed to his mother, Irmelin Indenbirken, as an example. "She just says exactly what she thinks and wastes no time. She spends no time trying to fake it," he said.
That outlook, he added, means being straightforward even at the risk of conflict.
"Being more upfront and risking having things fall apart or risk the disagreements or risk going your separate ways from any type of relationship in life — the personal, professional," he said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.