has a deep friendship with that dates back many years, and a source exclusively tells In Touch that he’s been a driving force in the Oscar nominee’s comeback – helping both personally and professionally behind the scenes.

“The first time these two guys really crossed paths in a significant way was when Adrien quickly and decisively picked up the role Leo dropped out of in ’s 1999 movie Summer of Sam. This wasn’t a backstabbing thing, it was just business, and Leo loved what Adrien did with the role he passed up on,” a friend of the Wolf of Wall Street star, 50, explains about how the pair’s friendship initially began.

“Adrien was the right guy for that movie. They won each other’s respect and that has continued through the years,” the source says of their bromance.

“They have so much in common and are so close to each other in terms of age and upbringing, and also their careers,” the insider explains about Leo and Adrien, 51.

“This was a hard-won friendship that started out as a rivalry but has evolved into a middle-aged male support system. You don’t see that a lot in Hollywood and you don’t see that a much from somebody as competitive as Leo. But he’s pulling for Adrien this year and I know they’ll be partying together if Adrien wins!” the pal confides. Adrien is nominated for a 2025 Best Actor Oscar for his role in The Brutalist.

Adrien made history in 2003, becoming the youngest person to win an Oscar for Best Actor, which he took home for his role in The Pianist. He was 29 years old at the time. Leo was nominated in the Best Actor category the following year for The Aviator but lost to for his role in Ray.

Leonardo wouldn’t win his Best Actor Oscar statuette until 2016, for his brutal role in The Revenant. He was 41 years old at the time and had been nominated in the prestigious category three times before finally taking home an Academy Award.

After his Oscar in 2003, Adrien managed to score leading man roles in such films as 2005’s King Kong despite not having conventional looks.

“I’ve had to prove that the leading man can be unusual and unique and not typically handsome,” he told Variety in a February 5 interview. “But oftentimes, somewhat nondescript-looking choices are easier. Safer.”

When it came to getting passed over for roles in favor of sexier stars, Adrien said, “That’s par for the course. I definitely can admit I’m not the typical-looking person, so that will either work in your favor sometimes and often not work in your favor.”

In The Brutalist, Adrien plays Laszlo Toth, a Hungarian-born Jewish architect who survived the Holocaust and emigrated to the United States in 1947.

The Asteroid City star has already taken home the 2025 Golden Globe award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture: Drama, as well as the Best Actor trophy at the 2025 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Adrien explained how grueling it was to shoot the three-hour, 35-minute film across a span of only 34 days.

“There was just no room for error,” he told the publication. “And it’s so hard to make magic when you’re up against it all the time, and your filmmaker’s up against it all the time. It just adds so much pressure. Just debilitatingly exhausting. It’s just really excruciating, but worth the sacrifice