Leonardo DiCaprio was waiting to work with Paul Thomas Anderson. So, even if there was a lifelong filmmaking and collaboration in “The Next Battle” during 1997, DiCaprio was a bit nervous about the set for the first time.
“I’m always nervous,” DiCaprio told variety show Mark Malkin at the Monday night premiere of “One Battle Afterluge” at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. “But at lunch, I locked it in because you’re making a movie and you don’t have time to be nervous.”
Anderson’s latest one sees DiCaprio in a light that is far more handsome than the audience is used to. The “Wolf of Wall Street” star finds a thriller as the disorganized former revolutionary Bob Ferguson. Other cast members include Teyana Taylor, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall and Sean Penn.
DiCaprio described his character as a guy “sitting at home and smoking a pot,” adding that he “takes a lot of inspiration” from Jeff Bridges’ performance as the guy on “The Big Lebowski” in 1998. DiCaprio explained that Bob’s sedated nature brought an easy layer to the role, especially when it came to playing many of the film’s stunts, or “a series of failures.”
“We did a lot of crazy things with this movie,” he explained. “But that’s the difference what Paul does. It’s not like everything else. He wants to see a man fall.”
DiCaprio claimed he did not do the role method by smoking. “I can’t. I can’t do it,” he explained.
The Oscar winner only praised Anderson. DiCaprio said he would have done “any movie” he asked him, but he felt lucky to be able to star in a film Anderson has developed for “the past 20 years.”
“Whenever you get someone who’s really trying to do a huge spectacle, it’s a unique filmmaker like Paul, so you have to jump at the opportunity,” he said. “I would have done the film he proposed to tell you the truth because he is unique and interesting to the filmmaker and is fantastic. But I’m happy I had to do this.”
“A Battle” will appear in theaters on September 26th.
See more photos from the premiere below.
Leonardo DiCaprio of Warner Bros. will be the world premiere of “The Next Battle” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre on September 8, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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Tayana Taylor of Regina Hall and Chase Infinity of Warner Bros. will be the world premiere of “The Next Battle” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre on September 8, 2025. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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Warner Bros. Benicio del Toro is a photo of the “next battle” of the “next battle” held at the TCL Chinese Theater on September 8, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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The world premiere of David Zaslav, Pamela Abi, Michael De Luka and Warner Bros. Photographed by “A Battle” took place on September 8th, 2025 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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Warner Bros. Adrien Brody is the world premiere of “The Next Battle” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California on September 8, 2025. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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Warner Bros.’s Gwend Drinksty is the world premiere of “The Next Battle” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California on September 8, 2025. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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Warner Bros.’s Doub Cameron is the world premiere of “The Next Battle” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre on September 8, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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Warner Bros Chase Infinity will be the world premiere of “The Next Battle” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre on September 8, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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Warner Bros.’s Aldis Hodge will be the world premiere of “The Next Battle” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre on September 8, 2025 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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Warner Bros. Sean Penn is the world premiere of “The Next Battle” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California on September 8, 2025. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety by Getty Images)
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