After his TV debut in the early 1990s, Leonardo DiCaprio became one of Hollywood’s most promising prodigies as several salient performances garnered the attention of leading filmmakers. Most notably, DiCaprio broke through in 1993 with two early movie roles: This Boy’s Life, where he acted with Robert De Niro for the first time, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, in which he flawlessly portrayed Johnny Depp’s titular character’s developmentally disabled brother.

By the mid-1990s, DiCaprio had received further praise for performances in The Basketball Diaries and Romeo + Juliet. But a groundbreaking appearance in James Cameron’s 1997 historical epic, Titanic, sealed his fate as the most sought-after name in Western cinema.

Since then, DiCaprio has maintained his lofty status in Hollywood with a steady stream of acclaimed movies. His filmography now boasts collaborations with Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Danny Boyle and Steven Spielberg.

DiCaprio worked with Spielberg for the first time in 2002’s Catch Me If You Can. The biopic was based on true events and follows the entertaining story of the cunning conman, Frank Abagnale. DiCaprio took on the central role in the movie, while Christopher Walken portrayed his father, Frank Abagnale Sr.

During a past interview with Steve Head at IGN, DiCaprio discussed this on-screen father-son relationship as one of his most memorable. “I’ve always wanted him to play my father. I don’t know [why],” DiCaprio beamed. “There’s something about that man. He picks up on cosmic messages, and it’s shown through his acting.”

“He’s unlike anyone else, and I thought he was so well suited for this character. I think it was a unique character for him to play. He was very much like Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman or something like that. [Frank Abagnale, Sr] was a broken man. His spirit was broken,” he continued. “I’m so glad that [Walken] did this movie.”

Later in the conversation, DiCaprio was asked whether there were any scenes in particular where he felt they truly “resonated” with each other. “I actually had a scene with him where it was one of my most memorable experiences making films – I remember, and I don’t know if you remember the scene, but – the scene where I come back to see my dad and he’s talking about my mom and all of a sudden he [DiCaprio winces to show pain]… he like kind of hyperventilates,” DiCaprio recalled.

Adding: “And I was sitting there across the table from him while he was doing that, and it was completely unexpected. It wasn’t in the script. It was his own… completely his own doing.”

“I thought the man was having a heart attack in front of me,” DiCaprio admitted. “I honestly was about two seconds away from saying, ‘Cut! There’s something wrong with Chris!’

“It’s a testament to how he is as an actor. I was blown away. It is [one of those times] where you have a cinematic experience like that, where you are so forced into the world where you think that it’s actual reality.”

Watch the trailer for Catch Me If You Can below.