When last we saw director Christopher Nolan, he was wreaking havoc on the streets of Chicago and blowing up buildings with "The Dark Knight." Because of that, the anticipation factor is pretty high for his dream-probing new film, "Inception," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. In Los Angeles recently, DiCaprio told me that he thinks that's a good thing.

Leonardo DiCaprio: I think any film that has a lot of expectation and that can actually deliver is something very rare in Hollywood these days. This is a very ambitious film; it's high concept art and Chris Nolan is a visionary filmmaker. He created this world all by himself. It's something that he's been thinking about for eight years, so we all really jumped on the opportunity to be a part of that experience. But I think he knows to never underestimate his audiences.

Q: What does he do to prepare his actors and pass on his passion to you?

DiCaprio: He makes you feel comfortable. … I'm there to try to create a character that is emotionally palpable and realistic.

Q: After doing this movie, did you have a different interpretation or expectation from your own dreams?

DiCaprio: I tried to take a very conventional approach to researching this movie, so I read all about dream analysis. I tried to approach this like I've approached other films, but I realized very quickly that that wasn't going to work. This was Chris Nolan's dream world, and he had his own set of rules and his own structure to it. When you talk about the world of the dream, you immediately think that anything is possible and that world is infinite. But he put his own structure to it, so I needed to understand what that Rubik's Cube was in his mind. It took months to tap into how my character directly related to these different levels of the subconscious. It was an insane experience, but a very unique and sort of sci-fi experience.

Q: Back in the real world, you are very involved in all things environmental. What's your reaction to what's going on with the oil spill in the gulf?

DiCaprio: Like everyone else, I'm depending on, and everyone's hoping that our president is going to make the right decisions. I have faith in him; I think he's a thoughtful person with good intentions for our country and our environment and the people that have been affected by the oil spill. … And we need to make sure that ultimately we understand that oil is a finite resource and we're running out of it, and we need to use that oil to start paving the way to new solutions for creating energy.

Travel expenses were paid by Warner Bros. and WGN-TV. Watch my interviews 5 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday on WGN-Ch. 9 Morning News. My radio show airs 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on WGN-AM 720 and wgnradio.com. You can also hear more by going to wgntv.com/deanslist.