Leonardo DiCaprio fans impressed at how quickly actor snaps into character in Wolf of Wall Street clip

Leonardo DiCaprio fans are loving a clip which shows him snapping into character on the set of Wolf of Wall Street.

The actor plays controversial stockbroker Jordan Belfort in the much-loved movie, and a behind-the-scenes clip shows him bursting into life on the call of 'action!'

Check it out here:

The clip was shared on Twitter by the Historic Vids account and has amassed more than 3.7 million views and 116,000 likes.

Commenting on the clip, one fan wrote: "One of the best actors of my generation."

Another said: "I admire the dedication to his craft."

A third added: "He's prob the best actor of this generation if we're being real. Guy's got incredible range."

The Martin Scorsese movie is now nine years old, but the scores of wild scenes in the three-hour film remain as memorable as ever: pen-selling, dwarf-throwing and Margot Robbie teasing all spring to mind.

But one scene featuring DiCaprio and Matthew McConaughey transcended the flick and reverberated throughout society - and it wasn't even in the script.

Paramount Pictures

McConaughey had a small part as eccentric senior stockbroker Mark Hanna, who takes Jordan under his wing as he's starting out on Wall Street.

Over a lunch meeting, Mark shares some top tips with Jordan - namely that he should masturbate and use cocaine regularly.

So, with Scorsese at the helm, and DiCaprio and McConaughey left to play with this material, it was always going to result in big screen gold.

However, after around half a dozen takes, with the scene in the can, it was a little bit of thinking outside of the box that took it to the next level.

Between shooting, McConaughey had been thumping on his chest and humming. It was a sort of meditative ritual the Oscar-winning actor had been using for a while, as a means of clearing his head, preparing his voice and finding his rhythm.

DiCaprio suggested that they try to incorporate it into the scene, and the rest is history.

LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo

Following the film's release, viewers couldn't get enough of it. What exactly it meant was unclear, but it was infectious, and what was supposed to be a cameo role for McConaughey ended up producing one of the most loved and quoted scenes of his storied career.

"I mean, it's music," the 53-year-old told LADbible earlier this year, while discussing his memoir Greenlights.

"I love music and I think part of my performances and what I try to bring to these characters is a different type of music, tone, inflection, how they speak, what their words are.

"And you know, that was so out-there, and Wolf of Wall Street and that scene is so out-there. Then it comes back at the end of the scene, then Leo uses it later in the movie.

"It was all so odd, but so rhythmically right-on, you're like, 'That scene couldn't have been anything else, but where in the hell did that come from?!'"

Why then did the seemingly nonsensical acting ritual turned broker mantra capture the imagination quite so comprehensively?

"It's funny. It's anarchic. It's inconsiderate. But it's empowering at the same time, and it's fun," McConaughey reasoned.

"And everyone can do it. Like I say, you don't have to go get lessons to do it. Everyone's got their own bass. It's just - here's the drumstick, here's the drum [hmm-hmm-hmmm].

"Get your hum on, whatever it is - singing - you can't do it wrong. There's no way to do it wrong. And I think people just pick it up and find it fun, and it's a good pump up."