Have you noticed how we never think of Batman without Robin, or Bert without Ernie? Well, that’s because some pop culture duos are just inseparable, and since 2002, you can add Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese to that list.
Killers of the Flower Moon has just graced screens. Alongside its lengthy run time and imperative message, the film also stands as one of the many masterpieces created by Scorsese and DiCaprio. The actor has long been a muse for the director, taking the pedestal once occupied by Robert De Niro. In Killers of the Flower Moon, we’re treated to both of Scorsese’s muses, and now it’s hard to imagine the director collaborating with anyone else. Here’s their entire collaborative discography.
In how many of Martin Scorsese’s films is Leonardo DiCaprio?
Throughout his career as a director, Scorsese has consistently featured certain favorites in his masterpieces. In the early stages, his long-time friend De Niro played an indispensable role in his films. Nowadays, it’s evident that DiCaprio holds this position of favoritism and together, they’ve collaborated on a total of six feature from 2002 to the present day.
Their initial project was the 2002’s Gangs of New York, which came 35 years after Scorsese’s directorial debut. At just 28 years old, DiCaprio secured the role of Amsterdam Vallon, the son of Priest Vallon and the central character of the film. From that moment forward, he became a regular presence at Scorsese’s side.
Two years later, DiCaprio was cast in The Aviator as the eccentric and extremely wealthy Howard Hughes, co-starring alongside Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin. In 2006, the acting-directing duo collaborated once again in the crime film The Departed, which earned Scorsese his first and only Academy Award for Best Director. Although well-deserved, the scarcity of accolades in Scorsese’s repertoire is simply outrageous.
Following this, the 2010 mind-boggling drama Shutter Island featured DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels and Mark Ruffalo as Chuck Aule, two undercover US marshals who were sent to an asylum. Yet, perhaps their most iconic joint work came in the form of the 2014 dramedy The Wolf of Wall Street. It swiftly became an immediate success, prompting cries of outrage when neither Scorsese nor DiCaprio received the recognition they deserved for their work.
Their sixth and most recent collaboration is Killers of the Flower Moon, where DiCaprio brilliantly portrayed Ernest Burkhart, a white settler in the Osage land in Oklahoma. With many critics hailing DiCaprio’s performance as the pinnacle of his career, it also stands as proof of Scorsese’s meticulous research and phenomenal work.