Actor says he’s “privileged” to be in the industry

Jul 8, 2010 11:27 GMT  ·  By

It’s become the norm (of sorts) for stars to complain about how famous they’ve become and how that’s ruining their life because the paparazzi are everywhere and the tabloids will not stop writing about them. Yet there still are celebrities (A-listers nonetheless) who can live out of the spotlight and still be very successful with their projects: and Leonardo DiCaprio is perhaps the best example of the lot.

Now promoting his latest film, the Christopher Nolan-directed sci-fi extravaganza “Inception,” the actor sat down with the Sydney Morning Herald to answer a couple of questions. Among them was also one referring to whether he could ever complain about being too famous. Though he’s not exactly known for his friendly ways with the paparazzi, DiCaprio is honest in his response: if he ever came to complain about fame, he would know the time had come for him to retire from showbiz.

“You will never hear me complain about stardom,” the former heartthrob says. There’s a simple explanation for that too: he just knows how privileged he is to have gotten where he is now. “I’m a very privileged person. I grew up in Los Angeles, and many of my friends are actors. They don’t even have close to the choices I have in life. I would make myself nauseous if I complained about anything. My theory is, if you don’t like stardom and all the attention that goes along with it, then get out of this business,” the actor says.

Luckily for fans, Leonardo is handling fame pretty well, therefore he has no immediate plans of retiring from making movies. As also noted above, fans will see him next in “Inception,” a film about which DiCaprio has only good things to say. “This was an extremely ambitious concept that Chris [Nolan] was trying to pull off. There are very few directors who would pitch to a studio that he wanted to do a multilayered, almost existential, high-drama, surreal film that is locked in a man’s mind. Very few directors who would have the opportunity to do it,” he says.

Indeed, stills and trailers / featurettes hint that “Inception” may prove to have an impact on cinematography in general similar to that of “Matrix” or “300.” Early reviews are already saying that the film will not only be Nolan’s best work so far (a “masterpiece,” IGN Movies calls it) but this year’s landmark from all perspectives as well. “Inception” opens on July 16 – time will tell if predictions about it are accurate.

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