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Leonardo dives into
‘The Beach’
'Titanic' star talks about
By Tim Ryan
his latest film while
visiting Maui
Star-BulletinKAPALUA, MAUI -- Baby-faced Leonardo DiCaprio -- one of Hollywood's newest $20 million men -- saunters into a shuttered restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel a bit puffy-eyed. This is either the result of a late night in Lahaina with longtime L.A. friends he affectionately calls "The Posse," or from scuba diving and horseback riding the day before.
Tall with short blond, spiky hair, a barely visible goatee, black T-shirt, baggy blue jeans and paisley boxers peeking just above his okole, the 24-year-old "Titanic" star at first is a bit uneasy, nervous even, during interviews with dozens of national print and television reporters. He's here to talk about his latest film, "The Beach," opening next month; his life after "Titanic"; and being a superstar.
"The Beach" is Alex Garland's 1996 novel about a young nicotine-addicted traveler named Richard (DiCaprio), an avid pop-culture buff with a love for video games and Vietnam War movies. While at a hotel in Bangkok, Richard finds a map left by his strange, whacked-out neighbor, who just committed suicide. The map supposedly leads to a legendary paradise where other wayward souls have settled in a sort of "Blue Lagoon" meets "Lord of the Flies," with a touch of the Manson clan tossed in.
The British filmmakers behind 20th Century Fox's $45 million film are producer Andrew MacDonald, director Danny Boyle and writer John Hodge, the team that also made "Trainspotting" and "Shallow Grave."
Among major changes from the book for the script was a reduction in gruesome violence and the addition of love scenes, which allows DiCaprio to get passionate with French actress Virginie Ledoyen, although DiCaprio's character doesn't get the girl.It's not hard to figure why DiCaprio chose "The Beach." His character is searching for what the actor himself says he thought he found with the success of "Titanic:" a paradise -- be it fame, wealth or artistic notoriety -- that solves all a person's problems.
"But I learned after 'Titanic,' just like my character in 'The Beach' discovers, that it doesn't exist," DiCaprio says emphatically. "No matter where you go ... you still have to deal with who you are. If you have internal demons you still have to deal with them no matter what position you're put in, or how much money you've made."
After "Titanic," DiCaprio said he was "a bit haunted" by the stories "we've all heard a million times" about people who gained wealth, fame, power and "great opportunities," were ruined by it all, and died.
"There is no paradise, no final train stop where all life's answers can be found and problems solved," he said.
As he becomes comfortable talking more about himself than "The Beach," DiCaprio slumps a bit, folds his arms across his chest, wraps both feet around the front legs of his chair. His life, he says, took "a bit of a crazy turn" during "my 'Titanic' period."
He declines to elaborate on any of this "craziness," saying only that "it was the biggest transformation and adjustment period of my life. I reached a point where I had to have a certain amount of acceptance for things. You have to accept that some things are simply out of your control, and no matter how you fight it, all that you do ... is just feed the fire.
"I accept I can't control everything; that things will be their own monster."
For one thing, DiCaprio found himself in a hostile debate over environmental problems, allegedly caused by the filming of "The Beach." Thai environmentalists claimed the landscape of the pristine beach was damaged by the film crew, and DiCaprio's fame made him a target. Thai activists and newspapers painted him as an ecovillain, when he has always been a contributor to a environmental causes.
"Using my name obviously would bring more attention to Thai environmental issues generally," he said. "Absolutely nothing wrong was done to that island; the work the production did in fact improved its condition. If anything, our people took meticulous care with every little branch."
There were also reports that he got his female co-star Virginie Ledoyen pregnant. "Not true."
That he was rude to young fans. "Really not true."
And that he was so paranoid about being poisoned that he hired food tasters. "So not true."
DiCaprio jokes about wishing there was a handbook on dealing with overnight superstardom.
"I couldn't exactly go to the self-help center or the library to find a book on 'A Dummies Guide to Dealing with Fame,' " he said. "I had to experience it on my own because I didn't know anyone personally who's gone through this. I made mistakes which led to a painful learning process."
One way DiCaprio remains centered is by "hanging" with longtime friends. In Thailand where he spent four months filming "The Beach," DiCaprio brought his posse.
"I know it sounds so lame, but my favorite thing outside of acting is hanging out with my friends. They give me a sense of place and take me away from this world. They let me feel who I am."
DiCaprio almost joyfully admits he doesn't know who he is. He's learned, though, that life is easier when you admit your vulnerability rather than live "in denial."
"The best thing for me about acting is that it allows me to lose myself," he said. "I still don't know who I really am, but every day I think I get closer."
After "Titanic," DiCaprio was given dozens of scripts but he was looking for a story with which he felt a strong connection. It was a year before "The Beach" got to him.
"This story and the character of Richard struck a chord with me," he said. "I didn't want to rush into anything or do 'Titanic 2.' I wanted my next film to be something I could ... pay attention to the details."
"Thematically," DiCaprio said, "The Beach" speaks to "my generation" about how they've become desensitized by the media.
"We don't have a tangible connection with real emotion anymore," he said. "My character goes on a journey searching for something. ... He works up the courage to go to Thailand on his own, but once there he finds that it's still all the American mono-culture and Disney-fied for the rich tourist.
"He wants to find something below the surface of that."
Richard appears to be a true anti-hero with his lies, cheating, unfaithfulness, emotional egotism and possibly, murder.
DiCaprio disagrees.
"Richard is neither hero nor villain; he's extremely complex. He's a human being who, like a lot of us, achieves every little step of paradise that he wants but it's still not enough."
DiCaprio doesn't worry about fans accepting him in the role.
"With all respect to my fans, I'm an actor and I have to vary my roles for my own professional survival."
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