Leonardo DiCaprio Originally Had Another Role in ‘Flowers of the Killer Moon’

Leonardo DiCaprio almost starred as an entirely different character in his upcoming movie, Flowers of the Killer Moon.

In an in-depth interview with British Vogue, the 48-year-old actor opened up about the role he was first going to play, and the reasons why it was changed.

Leo explained that he was originally slated to star as Bureau of Investigation agent Tom White, which Jesse Plemons took over.

The reason it was changed was because he and director Martin Scorsese came to the realization that Lily Gladstone‘s Mollie Burkhart needed to be at the center of the story instead of it focusing on law enforcement.

Leo now plays Ernest, who is Mollie’s husband.

“It just didn’t feel like it got to the heart of it,” he shared in the feature. “We weren’t immersed in the Osage story. There was this tiny, small scene between Mollie [who is Osage] and Ernest that provoked such emotion in us at the reading, and we just started to penetrate into what that relationship was, because it was so twisted and bizarre and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.”

Here’s the synopsis of the film: At the turn of the 20th century, oil brought a fortune to the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted white interlopers, who manipulated, extorted and stole as much Osage money as they could before resorting to murder. Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Gladstone), Killers of the Flower Moon is an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal.

The film will officially hit theaters on October 20, 2023, before streaming on Apple TV+.

Watch the official trailer now!