Will Leonardo DiCaprio's 'sloppy hero' in 'One Battle After Another' bag the awards?

People will find a different Leonardo DiCaprio in Paul Thomas Anderson's new action thriller, "One Battle After Another," as he leads the film as a bungling, stoned, washed-out revolutionary Bob Ferguson, a former member of the gang known as the French 75.

The politically-charged film that seems to mirror the present times with migrant issues, ICE-like raids and abuse of powers sees what Anderson describes as "our sloppy hero" suddenly finding himself giving up explosives for diapers as he becomes a father to Charlene/Willa (portrayed by newcomer Chase Infiniti in her debut film role), his daughter with his revolutionary girlfriend Perfidia (Teyana Taylor).

As a messy hero (physically and emotionally), DiCaprio is able to bring realism, heartbreak, and emotion to the role, despite sometimes leaning towards slapstick comedy.

The movie is also ably supported by Benicio del Toro (who portrays the Zen-like martial arts instructor-revolutionary Sensei Sergio St. Carlos), Sean Penn (as the scary, strict and stern Col. Steven J. Lockjaw), and Regina Hall (who delivers some of her best and heartbreaking work as Deandra).

We were able to do an exclusive interview with DiCaprio, Del Toro, Taylor, Hall and Infiniti and also participate in a Q&A after the screening with the whole cast that also includes Penn and filmmaker Anderson.

Paul Thomas Anderson (writer, director, producer)

Steven Spielberg, when he interviewed you the other day, said the movie reminded him of "Doctor Strangelove." Was that a surprise to you? Did that make you glad? Was that Stanley Kubrick movie a direct influence while you were writing?

Paul: Well, no. I mean, many people have tried and failed to do what he did there, so you have to not try. But what is good, what we have all taken is his ability to make sure that you're laughing at the absurdity of human nature. And that's something you run with. But you never try to copy "Doctor Strangelove." That's a rule of thumb. You will fail. So, try to borrow a little bit. Get it in there. But do your own thing. Hopefully. I think perhaps one of the reasons why some of that stuff works is because the performers who play the Christmas Adventurers are such good actors and so committed and serious to the shit that they're saying that it helps it to be very funny.

Well, how did you decide to shoot those roads? Those shots are so fascinating with those hills.

I thought you were going to ask me; how did you shoot that? And I was going to use the John Ford line "with a camera." I'll admit something to you that you're usually not supposed to admit, which is that we did. We knew. Where did we know? We knew that our movie was going to reach an end. And somehow our "sloppy hero" was going to have to save the day or at least get his daughter back. There have been so many versions of exactly how that happened, and none of them were satisfying. I think for any of us. And in one of about a billion location scouts, as we were mapping out this car chase, as it seemed to kind of be moving along and trying to figure it out, we ended up about 20 miles in from the Arizona border, between Arizona border and Borrego Springs.

Sean Penn (Col. Steven J. Lockjaw)

Sean, you've said that your plan was just to read a couple of pages of the script. What was your reaction, particularly to Lockjaw's fate in this movie when you read it for the first time? Did you sink to his fate?

Sean: I was thinking about this today, that sometimes when one reads a script, certain music comes into the head, and you start in. And I giggled a lot, but this is one of those I sort of thought, because as you've seen the film, one wouldn't guess what Paul was doing next. And when I saw what he was doing next, I just thought, this is what I feel right now. This is a gift for an actor. Yeah, for actors and for cinema. Like, I just thought. I was just giddy and kept reading. It's so much wit.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Bob Ferguson) and Benicio Del Toro (Sensei Sergio St. Carlos)

Leonardo DiCaprio. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Benicio: No, that's the only reason. That's the main reason for me, Paul Thomas Anderson, and this guy here (Leo), they were already cast. And then I think they came to me. And then the third reason was Sean Penn, the fact that these are two of my favorite actors that I've been watching since I first started. And every time I see what they do, I want to do what they do. So that was all that before I read the script. And then once I read the script, it was like, wow, it's super exciting.

Leo: I have to ditto that. I've been wanting to work with Paul for such a long time. There are these visionaries, these directors who come along once in a generation and define their generation. And Paul has the choices that he makes in the world. It's just hard to believe that he comes up with these concepts, and he just lives right over the hill. You know what I mean? He lives right over there, and he's enveloped in his own world, and he's able to take us to different time periods and envelop us in different character attributes.

I just wanted to be a part of that ecosystem, that world of imagination that he has. And we would have, frankly, probably said yes to anything that he did. But to be a part of his magnum opus, his large-scale epic that had action and comedy and satire and espionage, and it was a gift.

Leo, one of the many things that I love about what you do in this movie is just the way you move physically through space when you were being stoned or just being as awkward as Bob is. What was that like? Was that part of the fun to explore those different sides?

Leo: It's the setup in the world and the sort of microcosm that Paul creates. He sets up the building blocks. I read this book called "Days of Rage," and I know it was loosely based on the Thomas Pynchon novel. And then I chose not to read that, but this idea of a guy who's stumbling around as an extra in the first part of the movie, who's trying to catch up with this vivacious, revolutionary whom he has fallen in love with. But he doesn't necessarily make the right choices and then is left on his own to raise this child and is completely ill-equipped.

He's haunted by his past. She leaves a wake of carnage throughout this movie, and he's trying to be a father and failing miserably. And just the setup of what Paul had, there he is at home thinking about his past, watching Battle of Algiers, smoking a bomb. I was like, okay, we're going to take it from there. And just the setup that this man, what would he be doing when his daughter gets kidnapped and his past comes back to haunt him? He'd be sitting there stoned out of his mind, paranoid and in a robe for the rest of the movie and continuously failing.

But I thought that the one thing that we discovered when we were making this character together was that Paul said something to me in the middle of shooting, which is, there's a traditional way to play this character. There's something that is expected. I think he always takes an unexpected route. It's the sheer pursuit of never giving up for the person that he loves, you know? That's his heroism at the end of the day. He's just a relentless hound dog that is falling off of roofs and getting shocked. But he never gives up. And that's his heroism. He's a flawed protagonist, which I love. I feel like it's so difficult to insert humor that works into a story this intensely. And yet, every bit of humor totally works in this movie.

Leo, Paul described your character as a "sloppy hero," but I see him also as a loving father. How do you see your character?

Leo: A flawed protagonist, a flawed human being. That's quite simply it. He creates human beings that you feel exist. Even though some of the subplots of this, the Christmas Adventurers Club, those people in there, you go. Do these people really exist? Well, these are from the mind of Paul Thomas Anderson, but is there a secret society that lives out there like that? They seem tactile, they seem real. They're specific, their specificity to them, and they're all flawed. Everyone's flawed. Everyone has that humanity to them. He just writes that so well, and it's all a part of some part of his mind. That's the talent that he's able to put on the page.

Leo, talk about the outdoor phone booth scene. Was there an actor off camera near you performing the other lines? Because it wouldn't have been possible for you to time it in your head. You needed someone there. So, what was that like?

Leo: I love the fact that this guy had his own political makeup, but 15 years later, 16 years later, that shit kind of change. Then the wokeness that he grew up with has twisted into sort of a more don't tread on me anti-government. I don't want to hear this shit anymore. I'm tired of that. That's my past. What happens when you set up a character who's supposed to be set up for an action film star who's going to do anything to protect his daughter and defy all odds? But he can't remember the goddamn password. That dominates his whole character in the first two acts. I'm too stoned to remember the password. I can't get out of the gate to do this. So, it's just those unexpected choices in that absurdity that make this film unique to me.

Benicio, your character is very serene and cool all the time, even in times of disaster. So, what do you like about your character?

Benicio: Well, that and the way he treated his own people would be like a human being. I like the fact that he's loyal. I also like the fact that he is a fan. He's a fan of The Rocket Man. I thought that was like a really nice take on it because I'm a fan, so that was cool to have that add to that character. It made it original.

Teyana Taylor (Perfidia) and Regina Hall (Deandra)

Teyana Taylor. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

So, talk about why you wanted to join this project, aside from having Paul Thomas Anderson as your director?

Teyana: Oh, I mean, I'm sorry, but that is the answer. You know, that's the answer. Then knowing the kind of mind that he has, anything that he put in front of you is going to be the thing. Even though it was a big budget, I would have also joined it if he only had $2 and bubble gum, and some shoestrings. If he wanted to pay me in Trident layers, I'd have been fine with that. Because I'm just a team player. And working with Paul and being a part of this project has really made me appreciate football more. You know, understanding the type of captain he is and the type of leader he is, and just at the end of the day, all of us wear the same-colored jersey and get to the touchdown.

Regina: Paul's amazing. I watched every film of his. He's the subject matter. The rest of the cast, Teyana, Benicio, Leonardo, and the timeliness of everything. No element would create a no.

Chase Infiniti (Charlene/Willa)

Chase Infiniti. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Chase, this is your first feature film. You are so lucky to be in this group. So, talk about that experience.

Chase: It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience because everybody, whether it be in here like Teyana, Regina, Sean, Benicio, and Leo. Then having Paul Thomas Anderson at the helm, leading us and guiding us towards the common goal, was such a gift. I'm so grateful that he brought me into this process and trusted me with Willa and with Willa's story. Then let me work with some insane creatives, both in the industry and in their own personal lives. It was such a wonderful opportunity.

Talk about what you like about your character. I know you were the badass woman, Teyana. You're the rebellious daughter, Chase. And you're the grounded activist, Regina.

Teyana: I think what I love is that she's so fearless, and even when we don't agree on some of the decisions she makes, we know all in all, she is a person who is unapologetically herself. And she's gonna stand ten toes down on showing up for herself, and I can appreciate that.

Regina: I think there are so many different ways in this film that Paul demonstrates the strength of women. There's Deandra and the quiet strength, and then the bold, unapologetic strength. Then I'll let Willa talk about hers. But this beautiful, bright future that exists in this is the embodiment of strength, also a legacy.

Chase: I think one of the best parts about Willa's journey is getting to watch her grow into her own and seeing her take her life into her own hands and seeing her witness her own growth and strength, whether or not she believed she could. —MGP, GMA Integrated News