In The Wolf Of Wall Street, Leonardo Di Caprio’s stockbroker takes part in all manner of sins, not least drug-fuelled parties with naked women.
But the actor revealed yesterday that the sin he enjoyed most was rather different … kissing Joanna Lumley.
Di Caprio, 39, told the Standard he found the party scenes "disgusting", but thoroughly enjoyed flirting with Lumley, 67, who plays his wife's English aunt in the film.
The actor takes the role of Jordan Belfort, who enjoys vast wealth and hedonistic excess before a dramatic fall from grace.
In scenes set in Hyde Park, Belfort sweet-talks Aunt Emma into hoarding his cash in secret Swiss bank accounts. Both are seen pondering whether the other is actually making a pass, before the pair kiss.
In an exclusive interview with the Standard before the film's London premiere, Di Caprio heaped praise on Lumley.
He said :"She is an incredibly beautiful, charming woman. We decided on those make-out sessions that we have quite spontaneously and she rolled with it. I loved that flirting scene we had together."
Di Caprio was joined at the premiere by co-star Margot Robbie who plays his wife Naomi.
He compared his character to a power-crazed Roman emperor, giving in to every indulgence. "He was a man with no moral compass," he said. "But it was fun as a performer."
Yet he said the party scenes with naked women in the movie, his fifth with director Martin Scorsese, were not so enjoyable. "A lot of it was disgusting to me, to be honest."
The film, based on Belfort's own memoir, records his reckless consumption of drugs and fast cars on an income approaching $1 m illion a week, gleaned from defrauding investors at the end of the Eighties.
Di Caprio said the film was "an authentic portrayal of what has gone in recent history".
"We don't like this culture, we don’t like this world," he said. "But if we're going to make a film about it, we have to be very authentic about what these people were indulging in. This film is hilarious at times and outrageous at times because we consciously wanted people to understand what this lifestyle was like."
It was "obviously a cautionary tale," he said, explaining: ![People like Belfort] decimated our economy and therefore they should be punished properly. But what do we see happening on Wall Street today? People are getting bonuses as a result of ruining people's lives. Each generation doesn’t learn from the generation before them. We keep making the same mistakes."
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Di Caprio has been shortlisted for best actor at the EE British Academy Film Awards against rivals including Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave and Christian Bale in American Hustle. "I think this is a very interesting year for movies," he said.
"I think it's good there are people out there with taste that are taking chances and saying there can be an adult film that doesn't have explosions."
The film is released next Friday.
