As the biggest star in Hollywood today and perhaps one of the most famous men of the 21st century, it’s hard, for some unknown reason, to imagine Leonardo Di Caprio sitting down to watch anime. On the flip side, I have no problem imagining him watching an old black-and-white film or a 1970s classic by his hero and collaborator Martin Scorsese. The world of anime, however, still seems somewhat niche compared to other films out there.

While there have been legions of anime fans throughout the decades, it wasn’t until Spirited Away won the Oscar for ‘Best Animated Feature’ in 2003 that the mainstream world was introduced to this specific brand of animated Japanese storytelling. Director Hayao Miyazaki and his company, Studio Ghibli, were thrust into global stardom overnight as audiences worldwide hungrily devoured the meticulously crafted and vividly realised world that Spirited Away presented. For many, this distinctly peculiar and creative type of animation was entirely new for them – animation had, for the most part, always been for kids.

Not for DiCaprio, however, who had been exposed to anime since he was a teenager in the 1980s with the seminal masterpiece Akira. Based on the manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, who also directed it, this adaptation presented audiences with a mind-bending yet Shakespearean tale of a boy who suddenly has vast, overwhelming psychic powers bestowed on him.

The film resonated with DiCaprio so much that, decades later, he would update MTV on a yet-to-be-made live-action adaptation: “I’m a big fan of Japanese anime,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of loyal fans out there of the project and die-hard fans, so we’re going to try to do the best job we possibly can, and we’re not going to make the movie until the script is in the right shape.”

Leonardo DiCaprio’s favourite Studio Ghibli film
Clearly, the actor is more than just your casual fan – he knows his anime stuff. By the time Studio Ghibli had taken the world by storm, with each new film being as eagerly anticipated by Western audiences as they were back in Japan, DiCaprio was already well-versed in the medium. Considering all this, it’s unsurprising that one of his favourite movies from Studio Ghibli’s filmography and one of his top films of all time is a relatively obscure 1997 feature: Princess Mononoke.

The revelation came when Esquire and the Golden Globes asked the actor to name some of his favourite films. Among the seven, Princess Mononoke stood proudly. Written and directed by Miyazaki, it told an epic fantasy story set in 14th-century Japan, where humans’ devastation of the natural world incurs the wrath of the great Wolf God Moro and his local ally, Princess Mononoke.

As the popularity of Studio Ghibli grew further, Western audiences would eventually rediscover the company’s back catalogue, and plenty of people would now cite Princess Mononoke as their favourite, too. But with DiCaprio, the choice paints a picture of a man deeply immersed in cinema, appreciative of movies no matter where they come from.