Leonardo DiCaprio teams up with director Clint Eastwood and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black for the biopic of the very mysterious, and infamous former FBI Chief J. Edgar Hoover.
DiCaprio says his own preconceived notions of Hoover were challenged with the research he did on this movie.
"There were an incredible amount of salacious rumors about the man that I think Dustin Lance Black sort of exposed in his research, a lot of them being untrue, a lot them being true, and there's still a lot of that aare questions unanswered about him," said DiCaprio. "That's what was so intresting about being able to play this man: he's so shrouded in mystery."
A big part of that mystery involves Hoover's personal life.
It is rumored he was a gay man, living in a time and climate where being open about one's sexuality was not an option.
The film takes the stance that Hoover's longtime professional colleague, Clyde Tolson, was the object of his unrequited affection.
But the true love of his life was his job.
"It was about these people of service, what it was like to truly devote your entire life to your country and never allow yourself to love another human being," said DiCaprio.
"That manifests itself in this incredible desire to hold on to that power, professionally, the love of the public and your position becomes everything to you and that's the story of this movie," said DiCaprio.
"J. Edgar" is in theaters this weekend.
