Some crew members on the set of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood were reportedly urged not to look Leonardo DiCaprio in the eye.

A source from the set of Quentin Tarantino’s sprawling Los Angeles drama told The Hollywood Reporter that some crew members were “instructed to avoid making eye contact” with the Oscar-winning actor.

The revelation was made as part of an article looking into the 44-year-old’s unique brand of movie stardom, which differs from many other figures in modern Hollywood and is more akin to the big beasts of the New Hollywood era in the 1970s and 1980s.

DiCaprio is described in the piece as being surrounded by a “carefully crafted air of mystery," despite being one of the most famous men in the world.

It’s a persona that would appear to suit his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood character, Rick Dalton, who Tarantino has described as “a man full of inner turmoil."

The film focuses on DiCaprio’s Dalton, as well as his stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), as they navigate the Hollywood of the 1960s. Crucially, the duo live near the house of Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who was murdered by the cult of followers behind Charles Manson in 1969.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received a lengthy standing ovation, as well as positive reviews from critics.

DiCaprio won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2016 for The Revenant, after having previously been nominated for an Oscar five times. His next project is likely to be Martin Scorsese’s crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon, which follows an FBI murder investigation in the 1920s.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood arrives in US cinemas this Friday