Leonardo DiCaprio Q&A: Why It Was Worth The Struggle To Toss A Hero Take On ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ To Unlock Dark Truths & Resonant Performances Like Lily Gladstone Breakout Turn
DiCaprio would play the incorruptible Texas Ranger-turned FBI agent Tom White, whose sleuthing ends the Reign Of Terror murders that decimated the murders of oil rich Osage tribe members in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Until DiCaprio, Scorsese and De Niro decided it didn’t nearly capture the complicity of law enforcement and the white community that were so indifferent to the plight of the Osage, whose leaders basically bribed J Edgar Hoover’s new division to get involved. It perpetuated the “white savior” narrative that has been a staple of Hollywood westerns forever, and did little to capture the Osage side of the story. Here, he explains why this epiphany that set back the project years and led him to switch from hero to villain, was so worth it and resulted in a movie many have called a masterpiece with staying power.