Leonardo DiCaprio Reveals Secrets Behind ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street,’ His Latest Collaboration With Martin Scorsese

“The Wolf of Wall Street” premiered in theaters on Christmas Day, and along with the shock of the psychedelic fueled film, came the fifth collaboration between Leonardo DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese. The film is based of the story of Jordan Belfort, the 22-year-old who founded the infamous brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont, despite making $49 million the year he turned 26 Belfort spent 4 years in federal prison after a rise and fall story of epic proportions.

DiCaprio, who learned of Belfort’s wild ride of a life from his 2007 memoir of the same name built a personal relationship with the self-proclaimed “American entrepreneurial icon.” In a recent interview with Latin Times, the Golden Globe winning actor revealed that since beginning “The Wolf of Wall Street” journey he has grown quite close with the real life federal convict. “He was incredibly beneficial for me as an actor. He would divulge the most embarrassing things about his life because he looked at it as a part of his past,” DiCaprio stated about Belfort’s influence in the portrayal of his former “wolf” persona.

DiCaprio continued to explain how the former stockbroker found the admission of his life on the silver screen slightly unsettling. “Even times where we’d start to have conversations and he’d start to veer off into, ‘Well, maybe we shouldn’t portray…’ I’d say, ‘Look, you wrote this book about what happened behind the doors of Wall Street and the conversations that were going on in an unregulated marketplace. You’re making a statement here, so let’s tell the truth.’ As soon as we had that conversation, he was like, ‘All right, I’m an open book. I’m gonna tell you not only what happened on that day, I’m gonna tell you something that was ten times worse.” The true events of his life were not the only information Belfort provided for the success of the film, he instructed DiCaprio on the reality of drugs and highs. Belfort would roll around on the floor and tell him what exactly it was like to take enough drugs to kill a horse daily, especially Belfort’s favorite cocktail combination of choice Quaaludes and cocaine. Of course Leo had to do this drug research with out actually taking them, but he did have to snort something during filming. Leo, who laughed off the question of cocaine in the movie with ease, revealed that the powdery substance were actually healthy. “They were baby vitamins. Vitamin B. It certainly burned our noses and we were energized for the day.”

While DiCaprio grew quite close with Belfort, it was surprising to learn that the director of the film, Martin Scorsese never met the real life inspiration. Scorsese revealed that he typically likes to keep the reality separate from the character, despite being based on a true story Scorsese was never influenced by the now 45-year-old Belfort. The 71-year-old director revealed his reasoning behind the distance; “I did the same with Henry Hill of “Goodfellas.” I never met him [Belfort]. I spoke to him once on the phone. That was it… I have to find my own way with it and they’re fascinating, that’s what’s so fascinating about them, they can be persuasive.” And while the starring actor and director possess different philosophies from where to draw inspiration, the dynamic duo is stronger than ever.

When discussing the possibility of a sixth collaboration with DiCaprio, Scorsese seems optimistic. He described their relationship as mutually beneficial, “The element there is trust, creative trust, you know? And it’s been remarkable in the later part of my life to find somebody I could collaborate with who has, as I said originally, rejuvenates me… But in any event it has to do with trust, it has to do with, as he says, once, I talk to him that way and he accepts it, he knows where he’s going. You know, it isn’t a matter of every day having to say that, you see? Cause if it’s every day then you can’t make the picture.”