Director Martin Scorsese has enlisted Leonardo DiCaprio to star in some of his biggest films, including 2006's "The Departed" and "The Wolf of Wall Street," which is up for five Oscars this year.
Why is the "Titanic" actor in so many Scorsese films? The 71-year-old director opened up to reporters on the red carpet at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Thursday, citing DiCaprio's zeal as the vital factor.
"I gotta tell ya, Leo's enthusiasm and excitement [is what I love]," Scorsese told media including Yahoo Movies. "Not only his enthusiasm and excitement for the project and the character, but each day, because you got a long haul shooting."
DiCaprio is in the running for Best Actor at the 2014 Academy Awards, while Scorsese has been nominated for Best Director. The pair have also teamed up for such films as the 2010 psychological thriller "Shutter Island" and the 2002 drama "Gangs of New York."
The actor never has to be dragged to the set, Scorsese told reporters.
"I'm 71 now! And to get up there in the morning, it's awful--I get there, I see the actors, then I see him and I know we're gonna go," Scorsese said, according to Yahoo Moives. "We're going to do it. There is no issue of pulling him out of a trailer or getting him off the phone. He's there."
Scorsese is famous for not viewing his own films, but Yahoo Movies persuaded him to name a title that he might watch for an hour or so if it comes on television.
"'Goodfellas,'" he told Yahoo Movies. "Something about the way it's structured. ['Wolf of Wall Street'] too. For some reason, you watch one scene, you watch another, it leads to another, it leads to another ... I was experimenting with that style, you know, to see if you could really get hooked.
"Before you realize it you're watching it for an hour," the director said with a smile. "I still don't really see my films though."
Scorsese and DiCaprio were honored Thursday night with the Cinema Vanguard Award for their major contributions to film, the Daily Mail reported. They have worked on five films together.
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