DiCaprio attends film premiere

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio was due to delight film fans today with an appearance at the British premiere of his new movie Gangs Of New York.

DiCaprio is in London for the screening of the eagerly-awaited Martin Scorsese epic.

He is due to join co-star Daniel Day-Lewis at the premiere at the Empire in Leicester Square.

Gangs Of New York is DiCaprio’s first appearance on the big screen in two years after flop film The Beach.

The 28-year-old actor has spent his time away from the limelight but is now back with two major movie releases.

Besides Gangs of New York, he is about to hit British cinema screens in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can.

In the former he plays Irish-American Amsterdam Vallon, out to avenge his father’s death at the hands of villainous gang leader Bill The Butcher, played by Day-Lewis.

Set in the 19th century in New York’s notorious Five Points slums, it also features Cameron Diaz, Liam Neeson and Jim Broadbent.

DiCaprio may have the starring role, but it is Day-Lewis’s performance which has been tipped for Oscar glory.

The British-born actor was named best actor at the New York Film Critics Circle last month, regarded by many as a good indicator for the Academy Awards.

He announced three years ago that he was quitting the film business to become a cobbler in Florence.

But DiCaprio and Scorsese lured him out of retirement to play Bill, the murderous gang boss determined to stop Irish immigrants from invading his territory.

Day-Lewis, 45, is famous for taking his work seriously and remained in character throughout filming.

He spent months with a London butcher learning how to handle knives and DiCaprio recalled how he would often hear him sharpening them in his trailer.

Gangs Of New York was first scheduled for release in December 2001 but was put back several times, dogged by rumours of financial problems and on-set rows.

As the budget spiralled to £100m (€154m), there were reports that Scorsese was furious with DiCaprio for his constant partying during filming in Rome.

Industry insiders claimed the delay in releasing the film was down to Miramax boss Harvey Weinstein’s insistence that the film be edited down to under three hours, while Scorsese was reluctant to cut it. It runs to two hours and 48 minutes.

Gangs Of New York has been well received by the critics but has been outstripped at the US box office by Catch Me If You Can.

It is the true story of conman Frank Abagnale Junior, who got through $2.5m (€2.4m) in forged cheques before his 21st birthday posing as an airline pilot, doctor and barrister.

It took $30m (€28.8) on its opening weekend – three times as much as Gangs Of New York, although it is being shown on twice as many screens.