Leo Recounts 'Wolf of Wall Street' Debauchery
Hedonism. Debauchery. Extravagance. Enough said? Leonardo DiCaprio reunites with Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese (adding to their shared films Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed and Shutter Island) for an exercise in '80s exce$$ in The Wolf of Wall Street, in theaters Christmas Day, and Leo tells ET's Rob Marciano that he felt like a rock star, or better yet, the head of a cult or emperor of the Roman Empire, while portraying his true-life character, Jordan Belfort.
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"I looked at this like I was playing an emperor in the Roman Empire, except it's in the modern era," explains Leo. "You know, there were giant orgy scenes on 747's, and this is all reflective of the real man's life. This stuff really happened. ... We went for it, and it's all up on screen. There's not much left on the cutting room floor."
"You felt like you were a rock star; it infuses you with so much energy -- that energy kind of was a rush throughout the movie," he continues. Asked if he has a personal favorite scene of debauchery, Leo exhales, "There are so many."
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Based on a true story, Leo plays Jordan Belfort, who made just shy of a million a week as a wealthy stockbroker during the corporate-raiding '80s, living a life of hedonism and illegal money operations until the federal government finally caught up with him. Clocking in at three hours, there's more than a Wall Street corporate raider's share of indulgences to feast upon in the new film that co-stars Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jean Dujardin and Kenneth Choi.