Leonardo DiCaprio has recalled ‘screaming’ in Hollywood icon Robert De Niro’s face just minutes after they first met over three decades ago, praising the actor for ‘changing his life’

Leonardo DiCaprio has recalled how he ‘screamed’ at Robert De Niro as a young actor trying to stand out to the legendary star, in a move which proved successful.

The Titanic star, 50, presented his mentor and longtime friend Robert with the honorary Palme d’Or award at Cannes Film Festival’s opening ceremony on Tuesday, and took a trip down memory lane while doing so.

Stepping out in front of the ceremony’s audience – which included the likes of Eva Longoria and Bella Hadid – Leonardo described Robert as an ‘inspiration’.

“I was one of the many very lucky kids who had the incredible opportunity to audition for and ultimately work with him early in my career on This Boy’s Life. The audition process was a tough one, there was lots of competition. Nervous who would get the part, at 15 or 16 years old, I did the only think I could think to stand out, I screamed at him at the top of my lungs. The room burst into laughter,” recalled Leonardo.

Leonardo presented Robert with the honorary Palme d’Or award at Cannes Film Festival’s opening ceremony(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)

Continuing that his quick thinking ended up getting him the job, Leonardo said, “Later that day, as the story goes, Bob was getting on his plane with his producer Art Linson, who asked, ‘Who do you want to play the part?’. And in classic De Niro fashion, he replied, ‘second kid from the last’, luckily, that second kid was me. And that moment changed my life forever.”

Praising Robert’s mentorship and acting skills, Leonardo then welcomed the star to the stage to present him with the coveted gong – which has previously been awarded to Meryl Streep and Woody Allen, amongst many others.

Amid a two-minute standing ovation from the crowd, which left Robert with a tear in his eye, he and Leonardo shared a hug on stage as the latter proudly handed over the award.

After showing his appreciation to the film festival and Leonardo, Robert turned to politics and asked the star-filled room to take action against Donald Trump.

Leonardo shared how Robert ‘changed his life’ as an aspiring actor(Image: Getty Images)

Slamming the US president as a ‘fascist’, the New York-born actor said, “In my country we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted. And that affects all of us,” said Robert, who told the crowd “this is not just America’s problem”.

“America’s philistine president, who has had himself appointed head of one of our premier cultural institutions, he has cut funding and support to the arts, humanities and education. And now he announced a 100% tariff on films produced outside of the US. Let that sink in for a minute. You can’t put a price on creativity, but apparently you can put a tariff on it,” he said.

Robert ended his speech by urging the industry to ‘take action’ and ‘fight’ against the ‘unacceptable’ rulings of President Trump.