Leonardo DiCaprio: I Studied Psychology For Film

Leonardo DiCaprio

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Leonardo DiCaprio read dozens of psychology books to prepare for his role in new movie Inception.

Leonardo stars as Dom Cobb in the highbrow action movie directed by Christopher Nolan, which also features Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard and critically acclaimed Ellen Page. His character is the leader of a team of thieves who raid secrets from other people's dreams.

The complex plot attracted Leonardo to the role as he had been intrigued by dream analysis for a long time. In order to prepare for the part the heartthrob went to the library and studied the works of the 19th century German psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

"A lot of these concepts and these visuals have been stirring around in his mind for the last ten years, so I tried to take a really traditional approach to researching this project - and read about Freud and the analysis of dreams,” said the actor in an interview with the BBC.

It took Leonardo a long time to grasp the theories of the famous psychoanalyst and he admits the most helpful preparation he undertook for the role was simply getting into the mind of director Christopher to understand his vision for the movie.

"It took multiple reads," he confessed. "But it really was about being able to sit down with Chris Nolan and delve into his mind."