Leonardo DiCaprio works with top directors by simply letting them know he's "ready and game".

The 50-year-old actor is working with Paul Thomas Anderson for the first time in new thriller One Battle After Another, and he has opened up on his process when it comes to landing jobs with the likes of Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he said: "Luck. Luck, and I guess the perseverance of just letting them know that you want to work with them, some day, when the time is right.

"That's what I've been doing; that's how I met Marty [Scorsese] when I was young, I just let him know that if he's ready, I'm ready.

"I really love film as an art form; I love watching old movies, I'm a cinephile, and it's like those rare films rise to the top.

"There are certain filmmakers that have a multitude of those films -- Paul is one of them, Quentin [Tarantino] is one of them, Marty's one of them.

"So I just let them know I'm ready and I'm game if they are."

DiCaprio is delighted to be collaborating with filmamker Anderson, who he almost worked with on Boogie Nights but had to snub because he'd already signed on for Titanic.

He said: "Any time that he asks, you work with P.T.A. This guy is like one of the great visionary filmmakers of my generation.

"His films, I'm still intrigued by to this day; I still talk about The Master, Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, Magnolia -- these films that are going to last for generations to come so you jump at an opportunity to work with Paul."

DiCaprio has admitted he's winding down on the number of projects he takes on, but he couldn't "say no" to Anderson.

He told PEOPLE: "I'm slowing down a bit ... When these opportunities come up, I mean, I can't say no ...

"I think anytime would've been the right time [to work with Anderson], to be honest. Ever since I met Paul early on and I saw Boogie Nights, I've been an obsessive fan of his work, watched all his movies.

"His films ruminate in my mind and they're conversation pieces with my friends, they last ... Awards can come and go, accolades, box office can come and go, but those pieces of art, that you still talk about and still think about and still question.

"Those are the films that we strive for as an actor. And Paul is the dude of our generation that does them."

Last month, the pair took part in a joint interview together and DiCaprio admitted turning down 1997's Boogie Nights was his "biggest regret".

During a chat for Esquire, he said: "I'll say it even though you're here: My biggest regret is not doing Boogie Nights. It was a profound movie of my generation.

"I can't imagine anyone but Mark [Wahlberg] in it. When I finally got to see that movie, I just thought it was a masterpiece.

"It's ironic that you're the person asking that question, but it's true."