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Body of Lies: DiCaprio shines at UK premiere

Body of Lies, UK premiere

Story by Jack Foley

LEONARDO DiCaprio attended the UK premiere of his latest movie, Body of Lies, with his mother on Thursday night – delighting fans by posing for photographs and signing autographs.

The Hollywood star walked the red carpet while his mum, Irmelin DiCaprio, spoke to reporters in her native German.

The star-studded premiere in Leicester Square attracted hundreds of films fans who had braved cold, blustery conditions to catch a glimpse of the former Titanic heart-throb.

And they also got to see and hear from the film’s director, Sir Ridley Scott, and co-star Mark Strong – although Russell Crowe did not attend.

Body Of Lies follows a US intelligence agent (DiCaprio) on the hunt for a terrorist leader who has targeted Europe. Strong plays a Jordanian ally, while Crowe plays DiCaprio’s contact in the United States.

The film marks the first time DiCaprio has worked with Crowe since the 1995 Western The Quick And The Dead, which also starred Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman.

And it’s Crowe’s fourth movie with Sir Ridley after Gladiator, A Good Year and American Gangster – a fifth movie, Nottingham, is ready to go into production next year.

Speaking earlier in the day, Sir Ridley said that he had come to consider Crowe as a buddy and always looked forward to working with him – particularly as they shared the same agent.

While he described DiCaprio as “a real pro”, saying that he had always wanted to work with him.

DiCaprio, meanwhile, paid tribute to Sir Ridley’s directorial style, which he described as exhilarating to work with. The actor, who has recently been seen in several of Martin Scorsese’s films, said there was no one quite like Sir Ridley in the way he could orchestrate big action scenes with several cameras and never take his eye off the ball.

DiCaprio, who celebrates his next birthday next week, also declared that he had already received his present – in the form of newly elected American president Barack Obama.

He told reporters that he had stayed up all night in Rome to watch the results come in and feels the president elect will make “a fantastic president”.

Body of Lies opens in UK cinemas on November 21.

View photos from the UK premiere