Lily Gladstone is just like Us — she was a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio growing up.
The Killers of the Flower Moon actress, 37, grew up watching DiCaprio, 49, in films like Romeo + Juliet and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. “I had been a fan of Leo long before [Titanic],” she told People in an interview published on Tuesday, December 26. “My first film that I watched him in was, I can’t remember which one came first, but it was either What’s Eating Gilbert Grape or This Boy’s Life.”
As a child of the ’90s, Gladstone too was a huge fan of Titanic, which propelled DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into Hollywood stardom. She was so into the three-hour epic that she spent her hard-earned allowance money on a copy of the movie to watch at home. “It was one of the first things I spent my allowance on,” Gladstone recalled. “I preordered the double VHS set from Toys ‘R’ Us when that was still around.”
Gladstone went on to reminisce about the commercials advertising the film’s availability on home video. “I remember the Blockbuster commercial, [with store employees] hearing the crowd of young women approaching,” Gladstone said. “[The workers] set the Titanic on the shelf, and then you hear all the young ladies, and they’re like, ‘Uh-oh, here they come.’”
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Seeing DiCaprio as Jack Dawson greatly impacted Gladstone, not because she had a crush on the actor but because she respected DiCaprio’s work. She mentioned that his role playing two characters in 1998’s The Man in the Iron Mask inspired her. “I already knew at that point I wanted to be an actor and getting to see one actor play that kind of duality, it was really cool,” she recalled.
Gladstone, who stars alongside DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, has had the Shutter Island actor singing her praises as well. At the Variety Power of Women event in November 2023, DiCaprio introduced his costar and told the audience that Gladstone considered quitting acting before landing Killers of the Flower Moon.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone. Dave Benett/Getty Images for Apple TV+
“That an actor of such profound talent has found it a long and hard road to get this recognition speaks to the unfairness that still exists in our industry today,” DiCaprio said. “I fervently hope that we’re entering a new era in which actors like Lily, who embody this authenticity and undeniable truth in their own storytelling, take center stage. Because Lily’s not just an actor, she’s also an activist.”
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Gladstone has been getting many accolades for playing Mollie Burkhart in the Scorsese film. After scoring Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Movie Awards nominations for her performance, Gladstone is also earning plenty of Oscar buzz. If she wins the Academy Award for best actress, she would be the first Native American woman to win the trophy.
Gladstone, who grew up on the Blackfeet Nation reservation, has used her platform to highlight issues for indigenous women’s rights and works with the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center.
