Leonardo DiCaprio re-teams with Martin Scorsese for the upcoming epic "The Aviator," the Howard Hughes biopic which is already scoring great reviews.
But in the meantime, Leo opened up to Katie Couric on NBC's "Dateline" about life under the media spotlight.
Ever since becoming "king of the world" following the success of "Titanic" in 1997, Leo has become paparazzi prey. After all, he starred in the highest-grossing movie of all-time. And Leo has never been shy about letting his opinions of overzealous shutterbugs be known.
"You're quoted as saying the paparazzi make your life miserable," Katie noted. "You've called them 'stalkerazzi.'"
"Uh huh," Leo admits. "But I always feel so shallow when I talk about it because I feel like I live a blessed life."
"And other people are listening to you saying, 'Whah, whah. Deal with it buddy. You make millions of dollars,'" Katie wondered.
"I agree with them. But when I'm asked specifically about the paparazzi, that's my answer. I feel they are out of control," DiCaprio added. "I don't want people to know too much about who I am."
Katie asked Leo about comments he has made, suggesting he has a false of his own importance and what he's accomplished.
"I never got a big head to the point that I was ever rude or horrible to anyone, but in your own mind you start to think you've altered the course of history while meanwhile, you're an actor that did a good job in a movie," a candid DiCaprio said.
Nevertheless, his publicist Ken Sunshine is now on a crusade to crush the snaparazzi's relentless pursuit of his clients and stars in general.
"I'm talking about the stalking photos," Sunshine told
Access Hollywod. "I wish they'd stop taking photos of Ben Affleck walking on the street or trying to get Leonardo DiCaprio getting out of his Prius."
But since taking the world by storm at the age of 23, does Leo feel a little older and wiser at the ripe old age of 30?
"Nah," he joked with Katie. "I don't feel like now that I've turned 30, I'm a legitimate man…I'm the same kind of guy, but you know, I've lived a lot more and I've seen a lot more and experienced a lot more."
And, of course, dated a lot more.
Leo's current gal pal for over two years is model Gisele Bundchen. But DiCaprio still bristles when he's talked about as a jet-setting party animal.
"As soon as you become successful or become famous they immediately want to put a label on you as that and easily define you as quickly as possible. That's what it was there for a while unfortunately, but who cares," he concluded.
Catch Leo's full interview with Katie when "Dateline" airs Friday at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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