How swapping DiCaprio's Killers of the Flower Moon role changed film
Casting directors Ellen Lewis and Rene Haynes explain to RadioTimes.com how the film's perspective was changed when Leonardo DiCaprio switched roles.
Killers of the Flower Moon casting directors Ellen Lewis and Rene Haynes have explained how switching Leonardo DiCaprio's role in Martin Scorsese's new epic changed the focus of the film.
DiCaprio had initially been set to play Bureau of Investigation agent Tom White, but that role eventually went to Jesse Plemons – with DiCaprio instead taking on the expanded role of Ernest Burkhart, the nephew of main antagonist William Hale (Robert De Niro).
The film is based on David Grann's best-selling non-fiction book of the same name, and recounts the systematic murder of members of the Native American Osage Nation after they had become some of the richest people in the world when oil was found on their land.
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Ernest is married to an Osage woman named Mollie Burkhart, and the film mostly unfolds from their perspective, with White only arriving on the scene quite far into the three-and-a-half-hour runtime.
And speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com ahead of release, Lewis – who has worked on a number of iconic Scorsese films including Goodfellas and The Irishman – explained how the major casting change altered the film.
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"It came about and they switched, and so the focus really became the love story [between Ernest and Mollie]," she said.
"And, I mean, it's already a very important story, a very painful story, a painful chapter in the history of my country. And [it became] that much more moving being told as that love story between Ernest and Mollie, rather than being told about the murders and tracking down."
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She added: "And I think Marty has said this. I mean, everyone's culpable, but it definitely did give a different focus."
Meanwhile, Haynes, who specialises in Native American casting, added: "It focused it towards the Osage."
Mollie Burkhart is played by Lily Gladstone – who is already attracting acclaim and awards attention for her portrayal – and Lewis also revealed that she had been cast in the role almost instantly after reading with DiCaprio over Zoom.
"We Zoom read with Lily first. Rene had read with her and I read with her and then Marty Zoom read with her," she explained.
"And then Leonardo DiCaprio Zoom read – we were in the middle of a pandemic, still – but there was no doubt as soon as that reading [was done].
"We had tried other wonderful actresses. But as soon as that phone call was done, Leo called Marty and said, 'This is it, this is great.'"
Killers of the Flower Moon is released in UK cinemas on Friday 20th October 2023. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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