Will Leonardo DiCaprio Star in Martin Scorsese's Frank Sinatra Biopic?

Leonardo DiCaprio might be channeling Ol’ Blue Eyes in Martin Scorsese’s yet-to-be shot Frank Sinatra biopic.

The actor, 49, is being eyed to portray Sinatra, according to a new report from Variety, with Jennifer Lawrence rumored to be playing actress Ava Gardner, the crooner’s second wife. As it stands now, the film is hypothetical given that Sinatra’s daughter Tina controls the singer’s estate and hasn’t offered her blessing for the biopic.

Scorsese, 81, has wanted to work on a Sinatra film for years, telling The Hindu in 2010 that he was interested in casting Al Pacino as Sinatra and Robert De Niro as Dean Martin, a fellow member of the legendary Rat Pack.

That same year, the director told shortlist.com that he was considering working on a screenplay which focused on different stages of the famed singer’s life.

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“We can’t go through the greatest hits of Sinatra’s life. We tried this already. Just can’t do it,”  Scorsese explained. “So the other way to go is to have three or four different Sinatras. Younger. Older. Middle-aged. Very old. You cut back and forth in time — and you do it through the music. See what I’m saying? So that’s what we’re trying for. It’s very tricky.”

Should the film go into production, it would mark DiCaprio’s seventh collaboration with Scorsese, including the recent Oscar-nominated film Killers of the Flower Moon. The filmmaker looked back on their working relationship while attending the National Board of Review Gala in January, calling DiCaprio “one of the greatest actors in the history of movies” and noting that he has “faith” in him.

“I know I can depend on him. His immersion in the process of the person who’s trying to play within the story is full,” he said. “His fearlessness is something which has given me life when I make a film.”

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DiCaprio returned the compliments while discussing Scorsese in a 2022 interview with the Hollywood Foreign Press, noting that collaborating with the director feels like being part of a  “lucky elite” group of people.

“For me, I’m selfishly getting to work with someone whom I regard as the greatest living American filmmaker alive, and have these really unique, unbelievably memorable experiences,” he said. “Every time I’m on the set with him he pushes me and he drives me to be a better actor; he gives you the opportunity to really experiment, try new things and challenge yourself.”