After producing and narrating the 2019 global warming documentary Ice on Fire, DiCaprio returned to acting following a four-year break in Quentin Tarantino's comedy-drama Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which traces the relationship between Rick Dalton (DiCaprio), an aging television actor and his stuntman, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). To help the film's financing, DiCaprio and Pitt agreed to take a pay cut, and they each received $10 million. DiCaprio liked working with Pitt, and Tarantino described the pair as the most exciting since Robert Redford and Paul Newman. DiCaprio was fascinated with the film's homage to Hollywood and focus on the friendship between his and Pitt's characters. He drew from real-life experience of witnessing the struggles and rejections of his actor friends in the industry. The film premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where critics praised his and Pitt's performances. A writer for Business Insider called it one of the best performances of DiCaprio's career, and Ian Sandwell of Digital Spy particularly liked the duo's chemistry, believing their scenes together to be some of the film's strongest parts. DiCaprio received nominations for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. The film earned $374 million against a budget of $90 million.
After producing and narrating the 2019 global warming documentary Ice on Fire, DiCaprio returned to acting following a four-year break in Quentin Tarantino's comedy-drama Onc,e Upon a Time in Hollywood, which traces the relationship between Rick Dalton (DiCaprio), an aging television actor and his stuntman, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). To help the film's financing, DiCaprio and Pitt agreed to take a pay cut, and they each received $10 million. DiCaprio liked working with Pitt, and Tarantino described the pair as the most exciting since Robert Redford and Paul Newman. DiCaprio was fascinated with the film's homage to Hollywood and focus on the friendship between his and Pitt's characters. He drew from real-life experience of witnessing the struggles and rejections of his actor friends in the industry. The film premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where critics praised his and Pit!t's performances. A writer for Business Insider called it one of the best performances of DiCaprio's career, and Ian Sandwell of Digital Spy particularly liked the duo's chemistry, believing their scenes together to be some of the film's strongest parts. DiCaprio received nominations for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA Award and a Scr?een Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. The f.ilm earned $374 million against a budget of $90 million.