Leonardo DiCaprio Didn’t Know What Was Happening in ‘Inception’ Until He Saw the Film

Leonardo DiCaprio teamed up with Christopher Nolan in 2010 for the hit sci-fi film Inception. The movie was known for its unique visual storytelling, as well as the complexities in its narrative.

DiCaprio once even confided that he was so surprised by Inception he didn’t know where it was going until he saw the movie.

Leonardo DiCaprio found it startling how complicated Christopher Nolan’s ‘Inception’ script was

Director Christopher Nolan had been developing Inception years before it arrived in theaters. He originally pitched the idea of Inception back when he was making Insomnia before developing other elements of the story.

The movie would eventually grow into a narrative that followed several characters journeying into the dreams of others. But there would be multiple layers of dreams for Nolan’s cast of characters to dive through. This only added to the film’s depth.

When DiCaprio was cast in Inception, he was impressed by the scope of the story.

“What was very interesting for me was reading the original screenplay — and obviously this story structure was extremely ambitious in the fact that simultaneously, you had four different states of the human subconscious that represented different dream-states, and each one affected the other,” DiCaprio once told Collider.

When it came time to actually film the script, however, DiCaprio realized just how ambitious of a project it was.

“What Chris talked about very early on with us was being able to go to these six different locations around the world, [and what] was startling to me in how complicated the screenplay was seeing it in a visual format. That’s the magic of moviemaking. You clearly identify one scenario with the other, and it’s a completely different experience,” he added.

Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t know what was happening next in ‘Inception’ until he saw the movie

DiCaprio went on to say that he was surprised with how much he was able to understand the script after shooting it. But even after filming the movie, seeing it on the screen still offered the Oscar-winner many surprises looking from the outside in. So much so that even he had trouble predicting where the film was headed.

“I was in the movie and even when I watched it I didn’t know what was happening next,” DiCaprio once said on STV (via Digital Spy).

But that also made DiCaprio anticipate audiences finally being able to see Inception even more.

“Much of the appeal of this movie is going to be the surprise element and not knowing what to expect. I can’t wait for people to see it. I completely immersed myself in it so not talking about it in great detail before people see it is very refreshing,” he added.

Leonardo DiCaprio had no idea what happened in the ending of ‘Inception’

The end of Inception generated much debate among audiences due to how open-ended it was. In an interview on WTF With Marc Maron, DiCaprio was asked about where his stance on the ending might have been. But it was as up in the air for the actor as it was for many of the movie’s fans.

“What happened? I have no idea,” DiCaprio said.

He also compared working with Nolan on the project to a puzzle.

“Sometimes you’re just focused on your character, man,” DiCaprio added. “I actually do get involved, but when it came to Chris Nolan and his mind and how that was all pieced together, everyone was trying to constantly piece that puzzle together.”