00:00That felt rooted the first day. I was like, okay, I get this guy. He's trying to be a parent the
00:04best he can. He's an ex-revolutionary. One battle after another marks Oscar-winning actor Leonardo
00:11DiCaprio's first collaboration with filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. DiCaprio and more of the
00:17movie's stars, including Tiana Taylor and Benicio Del Toro, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter all
00:23about the highly anticipated project. Benicio, your character in the movie quotes Nina Simone
00:28and says that freedom means having no fear. What's a scene that you remember
00:32filming it and you felt totally fearless and totally free? I think pushing Leo out
00:39of my car going 40 miles an hour. You know, you should ask him though, because I was
00:46driving the car. There was some fear there, but I felt freedom when we got it done.
00:51I don't know. I don't know the answer. There's always a little bit of fear in
00:57every scene that you do because you want to connect with the character and connect with
01:01the story. I guess like one of my opening sequences where I'm just, you know, a dad
01:05smoking pot going to go check up on how his daughter's doing in high school. You know,
01:10that was, that felt rooted the first day. I was like, okay, I get this guy. He's, he's
01:15trying to be a parent the best he can. He's an ex-revolutionary. You know, he thinks the world
01:20is, you know, corrupt and society is, is fragmenting yet. You know, I've got to go
01:26do this, you know, daddy daughter meeting and, and keep the wheels, you know, on the
01:33truck, so to speak, and keep going forward, keep on trucking.
01:35Definitely when I was shooting the gun, like that was to be able to just yell. I feel like
01:42honestly, like, uh, even when you were shooting the gun, I feel like that was a, that was a, a moment.
01:46Yes. Like that was like, she was her mother's child. And I think just like that, ah, like
01:52at this point, I don't care who walking up. I don't care if the daddy walking up, the op
01:55walking up. It's just like to see that level of like freedom in your face. And also
02:00like in your voice is what I feel like shooting those guns. It's just like letting
02:04everything go. Like that scream for sure. For me personally, I think one of mine is
02:10probably like the first time that you see Willa take charge in, in her story. I think
02:15that was probably a moment that I was like, I'm free. I can do anything that I need to
02:21do.
02:22This is an announcement, a revolution. The message is clear.
02:27I'll be seeing you very soon.
02:29Not if I see you first.
02:30All three of you give just such amazing performances in this movie. I just want to
02:35give you a chance to give each other flowers.
02:37You're looking at generations, right? Like, you know, this one and this one who are so
02:44talented. It is so rich to watch. And because they are both so amazing in this film, but they
02:54are amazing people. When you get to work with someone who is, who you respect as an artist
03:02and as a person, like, I feel like that's when you hit the lottery. Like you can genuinely,
03:07when they're not around and someone says, so give me, you know, tell me how was it? And
03:11you can be like, no, they, they, they're, they're pretty epic.
03:14And she's a Sag. So that's just like, her points just went well. It was already to the sky,
03:19but it's just like, we both Sages.
03:20We sat at that dinner table and we were both Sages and we were like, hmm.
03:23And then she's really, really super, she's already a legend in her own right. But to
03:26me, she's really like a legend in my world and icon in my world. Cause it's like, it goes
03:29back to paid in full. It goes back to like so many things that you've done and being
03:34a Harlem girl, you know, paid in full was like, you know, so it's just like, so it's crazy
03:39because it's like being in scary movies and stuff like that is like amazing. But I seen
03:45her in a serious space before I seen her in a funny space, you know? So when people are like
03:49shocked that she's like one of the goats, I'd be like, I mean, y'all just, y'all not
03:54watching enough because my girl like been in his bag for a very, very long time.
03:59Me and mom, we used to run around and do some real bad shit.
04:04They got hurt. Now they're coming after us.
04:08While the film is a dramatic, epic action thriller, it's also infused with humor.
04:12For each of you, what was it like balancing the intensity with the levity?
04:16You know, I think the levity was, was there because of the circumstances, because of the
04:21plot. So now you can play against it a little bit. You can, you can, and let, be, be in the
04:28moment. And I think, I think in order to be funny, you have to be serious.
04:34You know, I never felt like I was laughing at my character or laughing at his character.
04:42I felt like if something happened that was funny, it was real, you know? And I think that's how I
04:46feel when I see the movie.
04:48One battle after another hits theaters on September 26th. For more on the film, go to THR.com.
04:54For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
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