Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in "The Aviator"
© Miramax Films
Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in "The Aviator"
© Miramax Films
Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in "The Aviator"
© Miramax Films
How did you shake Howard Hughes at the end of each day?
I’ve always been pretty good at being able to go home and be me again. But, as much as, for this character, I’d certainly say more than any other character I’ve played in the past, this one stayed with me the most. Especially with this stuff having to do with obsessive compulsive disorder. We all have obsessive things we do to some degree, a primal thing in our brain, that’s a part of our brain mechanism. I remember as a child, stepping on cracks on the way to school and having to walk back a block and step on that same crack or that gum stain. So, for the movie, I kind of let all that stuff go and was constantly stepping on things and reorganizing things constantly, and wanted that to encourage that to come back. And it really did. Once you don’t stop yourself from doing that stuff, it can just go on and on and on.
People with OCD truly live, with genuine OCD, people that aren’t able to make that distinction, truly live in a 24-hour hell of constantly playing mind games with themselves. They could sit here and have a conversation but all they want to do is reach over here and twist this around and flip it over 20 times in a row. An array of different things. Sometimes, let’s just say it took me a while to get to set having to step on tons of things (laughing).
Did you ever go to see the Spruce Goose?
Yeah, I went to see the Spruce Goose when I was younger. I didn’t go
back to see it again. I wanted to go up and fly some of these planes but,
quite understandably, the insurance company said to me, “No, we’re not going
to allow you to go fly antique World War II planes for the first time in
your life two weeks before shooting.” (Laughing) So, that was understandable. There
are certain things that you have to have a little leeway for.
Doing an historical film like this, what insight did it give you into what we’re
living through today?
Well, more so than anything, what I was worried about the most in this film was saying, “Okay, here’s the first American billionaire. He’s handsome, he sleeps with the best women in the world, he’s an American hero and how the hell do you make this situation with Juan Trippe and Pan American Airways and this Senator become a sympathetic situation towards Howard Hughes?”
I was going through my head and churning constantly, and then I realized, for exactly what you’re talking about specifically, it has to do with corporate takeover and the involvement of huge corporations with our government, and they’re in cahoots and it’s going on today with the Enron scandals and numerous other things. That’s what really made me say, “Okay, here’s this one man, he’s his own boss, he is rich but he is a stand-up individual and here he is with all these horrible things going on with himself mentally, standing up in front of the Senate and battling the Senate to stop the monopoly on international travel.” I think, ultimately, people kind of got behind that and lost all the other pre-thoughts about who Howard Hughes was or whether he would be a sympathetic character. And as far as history is concerned, a lot of people I spoke to said they really wanted Howard Hughes to be President after that. They really loved this one individual taking on the entire system, taking on the government, taking on huge monopolies and corporations. And that’s what, in other words, struck a chord emotionally for people, or me at least anyway.
Can you talk about the two Kates – Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale?
Well, for the Katharine Hepburn character there was really only one person that could play that role in the world. There is the, what can I say, the female version of Daniel Day-Lewis, and that is Cate Blanchett. To be able to take on the persona and one of the most iconic female voices of the 20th Century, in Katharine Hepburn, one of the most immediately recognizable voices, and being from Australia as well… Taking on that, you have to be a true chameleon and genius. So, enough said about that.
Kate Beckinsale, we were looking for Ava and she came in with the full fur and Ava Gardner attire and make-up and attitude. And once we met with a few girls for that, as soon as she stepped into the meeting with us we knew we had our Ava. She represented the class, had the strength, had the attitude, and it was a joy to work with both of them.
PAGE 4: Leonardo DiCaprio on Hughes' Genius and Mental Problems
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