Ayo Edebiri recently shared the story of how her father once refused for a Martin Scorsese film to be shot in their family home.
The 28-year-old actor and comedian appeared on Late Night With Seth Meyers earlier this week to promote new Disney/Pixar movie Inside Out 2, in which she plays the character Envy.
While talking about her Boston roots, the Emmy-winning actor told the story of how her family home was almost used as a filming location for Scorsese’s 2006 crime thriller, The Departed.
“When I was a child they were filming The Departed, and they were all around town,” shared Edebiri. She went onto joke about a childhood crush on the film’s star, Leonardo DiCaprio, saying: “I’m like ten years old and I’m like, ‘Me and Leo, endgame. Don’t worry, I’ve got the Titanic box set.’”
“There was a knock on the door one day and me and my dad were heading out to a piano lesson,” she continued. “They were like ‘Hey, we’re about to film this Martin Scorsese movie. How would you feel about letting us use your house?’”
The Bear star then recreated her father’s disapproving reaction, sharing that he said: “Use my house? So you can get the deed to my house? You see a working immigrant man with a house. And you want to steal the house. You want to come inside the house? Take my keys? Take the deed? And take my family? Nice try.”
The crew then reportedly explained how they only planned on filming there for a few days, and would pay to use Edebiri’s family home as a location.
The Bottoms star shared how her father’s reaction was: “You pay me money, so in court you can say you paid for my house?”
The crew eventually used a house in their neighbourhood for filming, Edebiri added.
Starring Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg, the film won several awards, including Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The film, which is loosely based on the Boston Winter Hill Gang, a group of organised crime figures, was primarily shot on location in the Massachusetts capital, with some scenes set in New York City.
In other news, Scorsese’s next project, a documentary about ancient Italian shipwrecks, will take him to the birthplace of his grandparents.