Leonardo DiCaprio: 'I want to play Vladimir Putin'

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio is interested in portraying Russian president Vladimir Putin on the big screen.

The Wolf of Wall Street star is receiving high praise for his Oscar-nominated role as frontiersman Hugh Glass in The Revenant, but the 41 year old is already looking forward to his next role and would consider playing the controversial leader.

"Putin would be very, very, very interesting," DiCaprio tells Germany's Welt am Sonntag. "I would love to play him."

DiCaprio previously worked with Putin in 2010 and met with him during a conference staged to raise awareness about the endangered Siberian tiger.

"My foundation has provided financial support for several projects for the protection of these big cats," he continues. "Putin and I talked only about the protection of these magnificent animals, not politics."

The actor also expressed an interest in playing other controversial Russian figures in films.

"(Vladimir) Lenin, too, would be an interesting film role," he adds. "I would (love) to play Rasputin too. I believe that there should be more movies about Russian history. Russia unites so many stories almost of Shakespearean character. For an actor, it's extremely exciting."