Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Tobey Maguire sat down for a star-studded meal at Nobu in Malibu with Governor Gavin Newsom ... and it all went down amid California's Paramount drama.

The acting powerhouse trio wore hats as they exited the regular celeb hangout co-owned by De Niro Friday night ... and the California governor was all buttoned up in a white button-down and gray jacket.

As for close friends Leo and Tobey ... they wore nearly identical all-black outfits ... which makes sense given their bestie status.

The news comes amid the ongoing drama surrounding Paramount's possible move out of the state.

We reported earlier ... after negotiations between the studio and California officials broke down, the talks were back on.

According to the most recent poll by Bowling Green State University among Democrats ... Gavin has 14% of their support -- and currently former Vice President Kamala Harris only leads the pack at 17%.

Time will tell if the acting legends were trying to sit down and convince Gavin to run ... or if they just wanted to grab some sushi with the politician.