Killers Of The Flower Moon Is A Shocking First For Martin Scorsese (But Not DiCaprio & De Niro)

Killers of the Flower Moon is the new epic Western crime drama directed by Martin Scorsese, which marks an unexpected first for the acclaimed director. The Killers of the Flower Moon cast features Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, whose insatiable greed drives him to hurt the ones he loves most in his pursuit of wealth. Staring alongside DiCaprio is another sensational actor, Robert De Niro, who plays William King Hale, Ernest’s uncle. Throughout the narrative, Hale manipulates his nephew to gain the Osage’s wealth, resulting in a series of murders within the Osage Nation.

The collaboration between the exceptional talents of De Niro and DiCaprio breathes life into these complex characters, as they deliver outstanding performances from the opening scene until Killers of the Flower Moon’s ending. However, this is hardly the first time that Scorsese has worked alongside these actors in his movies. But while Scorsese has worked with both DiCaprio and De Niro many times throughout his career, Killers of the Flower Moon does offer something new.

Killers of The Flower Moon Is Martin Scorsese’s First Movie Starring Both Leonardo DiCaprio & Robert De Niro

From Scorsese’s directorial debut in 1967, with Who’s That Knocking at My Door, he has never had De Niro and DiCaprio in the same feature film until his most recent work in 2023, Killers of the Flower Moon. However, he has worked with both actors numerous times before the 2023 film. De Niro’s first collaboration with Scorsese dates back to 1973 when he portrayed John “Johnny Boy“ Civello in the crime film Mean Streets.

DeNiro appears in several Martin Scorsese full-length movies, playing iconic roles like Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy, and James “Jimmy” Conway in Goodfellas. De Niro’s work in Taxi Driver earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, and he secured the Oscar win for his role in Raging Bull. Similarly, DiCaprio has had a partnership with Scorsese over the years, appearing in six of the director’s feature films. Their collaboration started in 2002, with DiCaprio taking on the role of Amsterdam Vallon in the historical drama Gangs of New York.

From there he went on to play roles like Howard Hughes in The Aviator, Trooper William “Billy” Costigan Jr. in The Departed, Edward “Teddy” Daniels in Shutter Island, and Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street. DiCaprio’s work in Scorsese’s films led him to two Best Actor nominations for his roles in The Aviator and The Wolf of Wall Street. Despite De Niro and DiCaprio appearing in a combined total of 16 Scorsese feature films, it wasn’t until Killers of the Flower Moon in 2023 that the pair finally shared the screen in one of Scorsese’s features.

Robert De Niro Turned Down Roles In Two Scorsese & DiCaprio Movies

Even though De Niro and DiCaprio didn’t appear in the same Scorsese movie until Killers of the Flower Moon, there were earlier opportunities for the trio’s collaboration. In an interview with Deadline, Scorsese spoke about the friendship between De Niro and himself, dating back to when they were 15 or 16 years old. He states that De Niro is the only collaborative partner who knows where he comes from and who he is. This connection led to the first collaboration between the pair in 1973’s Mean Streets when both De Niro and Scorsese were 29.

Over the years, the two checked in with each other to see which projects they would like to work together on. Gangs of New York was the first instance where De Niro declined a role that would have been starring alongside DiCaprio, simply stating that he wasn’t interested. However, it was De Niro’s idea to cast DiCaprio in Gangs of New York, telling Scorsese to, “…at least meet with him.” Scorsese went on to cast Daniel Day-Lewis as William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting, for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Another opportunity arose when De Niro was approached to play Francis “Frank” Costello in The Departed, but once again he declined the role, leading to Jack Nicholson being cast in the part. Scorsese checked in with De Niro over the years about working together on various projects, but De Niro said, “You know the kind of stuff I like to do with you.” It would be 24 years between the release of Casino in 1995 to the release of The Irishman in 2019 for De Niro and Scorsese to have a feature out together again.

Leonardo DiCaprio & Robert De Niro’s First Movie Together Came 30 Years Before Killers Of The Flower Moon

Although DiCaprio and De Niro did not star in a Scorsese film together until Killers of the Flower Moon, they did share the screen on two previous occasions. The first instance occurred in the 1993 film This Boy’s Life, directed by Michael Caton-Jones. In this movie, DiCaprio stars as 10-year-old Tobias “Toby” Wolff, and De Niro as Dwight Hansen, Toby’s abusive stepfather. At the time of this film, DiCaprio was 17 years old and De Niro was 48.

Their second project together was the 1996 drama film Marvin’s Room, which was directed by Jerry Zaks. DiCaprio plays Hank, a compulsive liar, while De Niro plays Dr. Wally, Bessie’s doctor. When this film was released, De Niro would have been 52, and DiCaprio would have been 21. It would be 27 years before they reunited in Killers of the Flower Moon, this time as uncle and nephew. This extended gap means that by the time they appeared in another shared feature film, De Niro would be 80 years old, and DiCaprio 48 years old, the same age De Niro was in the first project they starred in together.

Scorsese, DiCaprio, & De Niro Worked Together 8 Years Before Killers Of The Flower Moon

While Killers of the Flower Moon is the first feature that Scorsese, DiCaprio, and De Niro all collaborated on, they did work together one time before in the 2015 comedy short film The Audition. The short was created to promote Studio City Hotel and Casino in Macau. This short sees the two actors playing themselves, as they discover that they are competing against each other for the same role. Scorsese even makes an appearance as himself, listening to De Niro and DiCaprio’s reasoning for why they are the best choice to star in his film.

Brad Pitt also makes an appearance in this short film, which is his only time acting in one of the director’s works. The short is a delight, as De Niro and DiCaprio poke fun at each other with De Niro voicing his dislike for DiCaprio’s iconic off-camera beard, and DiCaprio telling De Niro that he is too old for the part. The Audition can be found on YouTube. It took eight more years, but thanks to Killers of the Flower Moon, the trio finally had a chance to collaborate on a full-length feature.