Robert De Niro recommended his own on-screen replacement, as his long-time collaboratorMartin Scorseserecalls 30 years later. Sift through all movie history, and it will be hard to find a more successful director-actor combo than De Niro and Scorsese.
Their working relationship began with 1973’sMean Streets,then went next-level with the one-two punch ofTaxi DriverandRaging Bull, the misfireNew York, New Yorksandwiched in between. Their 1982 filmThe King of Comedywas misunderstood in its day, but has come to be regarded as a classic.
1990 saw Scorsese and De Niro pairing up for the all-time-great gangster filmGoodfellas. They worked together two more times in the 1990s, teaming forCape FearandCasino. But their next collaboration did not come until 2019’sThe Irishman,followed by 2023’sKillers of the Flower Moon.
Nothing calamitous led to De Niro and Scorsese not collaborating for 24 years. It’s interesting, however, thatthe actor Scorsese did come to favor during that span was someone De Niro worked with, and personally recommended to his favorite director.
Robert De Niro Was The One Who Recommended Leonardo DiCaprio To Martin Scorsese
De Niro Knew DiCaprio From This Boy’s Life
Even as De Niro and Scorsese paused their long collaboration, the director found in Leonardo DiCaprio a new star he could work with on an ongoing basis. After first teaming forGangs of New York,Scorsese and DiCaprio would go on to make five more films together, all critically acclaimed.
But DiCaprio may never have gotten the chance tostar inGangs of New Yorkhad he not received a recommendation from hisThis Boy’s Lifeco-star De Niro. Scorsese himself revealed in a 2023GQvideo how De Niro unwittingly tapped his own replacement:
[De Niro] called me and said, at one point, he just made a film called “This Boy’s Life” and he was working with this kid that he cast named Leo DiCaprio. He said, “He’s very good, you gotta do work with him someday.”
This was out-of-character for De Niro, as Scorsese then explained:
And Bob never really used to tell me that, work with somebody, you know, just we’d go from picture to picture if we worked together.
How DiCaprio Took De Niro’s Place As Scorsese’s Go-To Actor
Scorsese And De Niro Became Two Ships Passing In The Night
Scorsese and De Niro had been discussing makingGangs of New Yorkfor years, with De Niro originally set to play Bill the Butcher, the role that eventually went to Daniel Day-Lewis. Ultimately, it was DiCaprio who would star inGangs of New York, thanks to De Niro. Scorsese explained how this went down in the sameGQvideo:
DiCaprio liked our pictures, came together, and [De Niro] said, you’ve always wanted to do “Gangs of New York,” we started it many times it got canceled. Here’s our chance, this kid Leo DiCaprio really likes your films, at least meet with him. And he was willing to go whatever I could do to make that film.
Scorsese has detailed how he and De Niro became two ships passing in the night creatively, each turning down the other’s proposed projects, untilThe Irishmancame along. 24 years would ultimately elapse betweenCasinoandThe Irishman, a long pause in the De Niro-Scorsese collaboration that can simply be chalked up to each man being uninterested in what the other had cooking.
De Niro turned downGangs of New YorkandThe Departed, while Scorsese passed on directingAnalyze This.
DiCaprio’s appetite for Scorsese’s cooking proved insatiable;no shock given the star’s insistence on always working with great directors. Scorsese’s desire to keep working with DiCaprio comes down to the star’s dedication, and the comfort level the two have, as the director explained during an appearance at the 2024 National Board of Review gala (viaIndieWire):
I have faith in him. I know I can depend on him. His immersion in the process of the person who’s trying to play within the story is full. His fearlessness is something which has given me life when I make a film.
Scorsese began working with De Niro because they were from the same place and understood each other. The director may not have had the same rapport with DiCaprio at first, but he has come to trust the star in the same way he does De Niro.
Trust is important for Scorsese, it’s clear. That explains why he works repeatedly with the same lead actors. De Niro had his time, but his creative path took him elsewhere. DiCaprio arrived at the perfect time to both boost his own career by teaming with a legendary director,and give Scorsese a trusted star to replace De Niro.
Killers of the Flower Moonsaw the three coming together at last, resulting in more great work from all.
