Leonardo Dicaprio Was Forced to Bring His A-Game for His Most Despicable Role to Truly Honor History

When Leonardo DiCaprio dove into his darkest role yet, playing a brutal racist so vile, even he needed convincing it had to go that far.

When it comes to playing dark, twisted characters on screen, it can take a toll on actors who couldn’t be further from the role they are meant to portray.

It wasn’t any different for Leonardo DiCaprio when he starred in one of Quentin Tarantino’s finest works, Django Unchained.

The 2012 Western had him playing “Monsieur” Calvin J.

Candie, a villain that would make your skin crawl.

As the owner of Candyland plantation, Leonardo DiCaprio had to play a staunch racist who profits off of slavery and makes his slaves engage in brutal fights where the results are either victory or death.

When he first got the role, Leonardo DiCaprio was reluctant to take things so far.

However, his team soon made him realize just why it was so important for his character to be so extreme.

Leonardo DiCaprio was hesitant to play Candie

Leonardo DiCaprio in Django Unchained (2012) | Credits: Columbia Pictures.

A Southern plantation owner with a twisted charm and a heart made of ice, Candie is unlike any other villain you have seen before.

Underneath his charming facade, there lies an unpredictable and vicious man who isn’t just casually racist, no, he’s deeply committed to white supremacy.

In one scene, he uses phrenology to justify white supremacy and black inferiority.

Truly, a man who wholeheartedly believes that racism can be justified through science is a heathen.

It takes a certain level of talent to play a character that doesn’t have an ounce of likability to his name, and somehow, he makes it work.

During the press day for Django Unchained, Leonardo DiCaprio was asked about the hateful way he was forced to treat some of the movie’s characters.

As it turns out, he was hesitant right from the get-go.

He admitted that this was his first time playing a character he had so much “disdain” for.

Even though he was no stranger to racism in the world, playing one on screen was what he describes as “a very uncomfortable situation.” He stated (via Indie Wire),

This was my first attempt at playing a character that I had this much disdain for.

It was an incredibly uncomfortable environment to be in.

I’ve seen racism growing up but the degree I had to treat other people in this film was disturbing.

It was a very uncomfortable situation.

While going through the initial read-through, DiCaprio voiced his concerns to the team, asking if they really had to go to the extreme levels with his character.

The actor recalled, “One of the pivotal moments for me and this character, was this initial readthrough, and I brought up, ‘Do we need to push it this far?

Does it need to be this violent?’” Clearly, he was extremely uncomfortable with playing a character who was as heinous as Candie.

And we don’t blame him at all.

In fact, even the director couldn’t stand the character he created.

How Quentin Tarantino convinced Leonardo DiCaprio to go brutal

A still from Django Unchained | Credits: Columbia Pictures.

After he opened up about his reluctance, his co-actors and Quentin Tarantino himself had to make him understand why it was important for him to fully commit to the atrocious character.

By holding back, not only would DiCaprio be doing injustice to the movie and what it represents, but he would also be putting himself in scrutiny’s way.

After all, people should feel the anger and resentment shown in Django Unchained.

If he were to sugar-coat the character, the message wouldn’t be as hard-hitting as it is.

DiCaprio continued,

[The actors and Quentin] said, ‘If you sugar-coat this people are going to resent the hell out of you.’ By holding the character back you’re going to do an injustice to the film.

That was the thing that ignited me into going where I did with the character.

After accepting his fate, DiCaprio drowned himself in research about sugar plantations and more, which made him realize that the movie was “just scratching the surface” when it comes to this despicable event in history.

While the script demanded fierce performances, DiCaprio revealed that the team had a great time working together and would constantly be there to support each other.

In other words, they acted like the loudest “cheerleaders” for each other.

Rent/buy Django Unchained on Prime Video now (USA).