David Jon Photography
Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio del Toro are having a bromance in “One Battle After Another.”
“Extra’s” Terri Seymour spoke two about working together on the film, in which Leo plays Bob Ferguson, a paranoid, washed-up revolutionary who is forced to save his teenage daughter when an enemy from his past reappears.
He gets some help from Benicio’s Sensei Sergio.
According to Leo, he’s been wanting to work with Benicio for the past 20 years, so building the bond between their characters “kind of came naturally.”
Leo elaborated, “There was a camaraderie. We understood these characters. They were against all odds. I’m a revolutionary that my past comes to haunt me. They’re after my daughter… I got nothing and I go to him. And what does he have? He’s got nunchucks, you know what I mean? And then we’re on the road together going against this oppressive military force and this insane wild ride of tension and I think the audience just kind of goes with us because we’re against all odds in this movie. I mean, and we’re kind of making it up as we go along. And Benicio came in halfway during filming and he was like, ‘No, my character’s got to do this. I’ve got this. I’ve got these connections.’ And that changed the whole land. That’s what’s great about Paul [Thomas Anderson]. He’s like, ‘Great idea. Great idea.’ And that it kind of organically just happened on the spot. Weirdly, we were doing a lot of improvising because of the shift in in the storyline.”
Benicio added, “For me, it was really like Leo brought the energy, right, and all I needed to do is just corral that energy in a way as my character. That’s what I’m doing in there. I think it was really interesting how it developed into this friendship and then the friendship was kind of there but what it developed was this, kind of like, this thing, like, sometimes water is thicker than blood, you know, and it’s the family that you make that really comes out and sacrifices itself for your cause, and that’s what my character does… I end up getting arrested.”
Leo went into more detail about his character, saying, “I think that that kind of naturally happens from the setup of these characters that he creates. I mean, the fact that I’m this ex-revolutionary that is fighting for a cause and now is trying to become a dad, yet he’s paranoid and anti-government and feels like everyone’s watching him. Yet, does his daughter have a cell phone? No, you got to stay in the house. Trying to [understand] the differentiation between generations, how they can’t relate to, no one can relate to each other nowadays.”
As for the dark comedy in the movie, Leo explained, “The humor came from the context of this the imagination of what Paul created and he was fixated on, you know, extremism on both sides and how, you know, people aren’t connecting or agreeing on anything nowadays. And at the heart of it is this man trying to just save his daughter and yet he has no weapons. No, he can’t facilitate anything to get an advantage. He’s stoned half of the movie. He’s in his robe and he’s running around aimlessly. I mean, the fact that Paul just created that sort of microcosm of dynamics, I think the humor just comes out naturally. Don’t you agree?”
The two also reacted to famed director Steven Spielberg raving about the film.
Leo commented, “It’s the ultimate stamp of approval right there, Spielberg? He related it to a Kubrick sort of Doctor Strangelove for anyone out there hasn’t seen ‘Doctor Strangelove.’ It’s got political parts to it, but it’s also this insane comedy world of extremisms, ridiculousness… Paul captured something like that, and Spielberg said something relating to that, I mean, that’s for me, that’s like the greatest compliment and achievement we could get.”
Benicio shared his two cents, saying, “There’s one Spielberg who can make movies that are like very human and at the same time very commercial and very popular, you know? Spielberg movies… they’re big events… everybody turns to them and everybody is emotionally connected to those stories, even though those movies can be really big and I think this movie has that… I think there’s something very Spielberg to this film and it reminds me a little bit of Spielberg’s first movie, ‘Duel.’ There’s moments that are very much like from that movie, I think, you know, and Paul is friends with Spielberg.”
Leo has been waiting for two decades to work with Paul after turning down “Boogie Nights.”
Leo said, “I’m being honest, you know, I would have done anything with Paul to just to be in that microcosm, that world, and to create with him… I talk about ‘Boogie Nights’ all the time. I just thought that was generationally one of the greatest films of my lifetime to see in theaters. And, you know, it’s been a long time since we got to talk again and find the right project, but I love films that have a tremendous amount of thought put into them. And Paul has been stewing on this subject matter. The idea of, you know, extremism, the idea of where we are as a society, but making it this epic odyssey that is just completely unpredictable with characters that you’re questioning every intention of everybody. And the idea of the Christmas adventures, it’s just so permeated into the fabric of where we are in today’s society. But it’s hilarious. you know, of course I’m gonna be a part of that.”
He noted, “He really allows you to take ownership of your character and go where you need to go. And I’d love to do it again.”
“One Battle After Another” is out September 26.
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