Filming ‘The Revenant’ Evoked Real Reactions In Leonardo DiCaprio [Videos]

Filming The Revenant evoked real reactions from Leonardo DiCaprio, according to an interview with Yahoo Movies. While it’s common for actors to call upon real trauma and pain when delving into a character, it’s another thing for an actor to actually experience the character’s reality while filming. According to the interview, DiCaprio truly experienced many of the reactions displayed in the movie.

Filming The Revenant proved to be a challenging experience for the actor who has won critical acclaim throughout his career. With numerous memorable roles — Jordan Belfort, The Wolf Of Wall Street; Danny Archer, Blood Diamond; Howard Hughes, The Aviator; Arnie Grape, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape — Leonardo DiCaprio has proved that he fully embodies each character, thrives in emotionally challenging roles, and likes to play true-to-life characters. While filming The Revenant, Leonardo DiCaprio not only stays true to his acting form, but pushes himself to unknown limits.

DiCaprio expressed his response to filming The Revenant scene in which he ate raw meat in the form of bison liver.

“I certainly don’t eat raw bison liver on a regular basis. When you see the movie, you’ll see my reaction to it, because Alejandro kept it in. It says it all. It was an instinctive reaction.”

Upon viewing the film audiences won’t have to wonder if Leonardo DiCaprio is calling upon childhood memories of disgust when eating something he didn’t like; or if props were used when filming The Revenant scene. DiCaprio’s real responses to some of life’s most grueling and challenging experiences have been captured while filming The Revenant, making the movie that is based upon true events, unique in its approach. DiCaprio also likened The Revenant to Last of the Mohicans.

Speaking about the future of television shows, Leonardo DiCaprio explained his views that films like The Revenant are becoming infrequent.

“It’s a very linear and simple story, but it doesn’t have all the formulaic plot points [found in] a lot of films have coming out of the studio system. What’s interesting to watch, as television becoming that much better, I think a lot of these stories are going to be going toward television. Television is better than it’s ever been in history. A lot of stories are being pushed — because of how complicated they are to make —toward Netflix and other channels on cable. But we’re going to see whether or not movies like this can survive anymore. It’s like the Last of the Mohicans — these type of movies. I don’t know if [these kinds of films] going to get financed anymore. So all I can do as a lover of film is, when I see these opportunities, to jump on them. [They’re] maybe a dying breed.”

Comparing the filming of The Revenant to Last of the Mohicans makes sense, as both films are period dramas with a strong, heroic male lead. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a frontiersman and trapper who after being savagely attacked by a grizzly bear, is abandoned by his fellow trappers and left for dead. In Last of the Mohicans, Daniel Day-Lewis portrays Hawkeye (Nathaniel Poe), who battles the elements and oppressive forces to be reunited with his love, Cora. Hugh Glass battles the elements of nature to be reunited with civilization. Hugh Glass not only fights to return to civilization, but also plans his revenge on those who left him for dead.

The comparison between the movies is on point and brings to light the importance of period films that may, like DiCaprio points out, become extinct.

DiCaprio also expressed how difficult filming The Revenant was, including filming the scene with the bear attack.

“[Those scenes] — amongst many other sequences — were some of the more difficult things I’ve ever had to do in my entire career. But the end result is going to be one of the most immersive experiences audiences will ever have with what it would be like to come face-to-face with an animal of that magnitude that is incredibly primal. It is absolutely startling and shocking, and it is the closest thing to documentary filmmaking — but in a completely stylized way that a lot of people never experienced.”

Are you planning on seeing The Revenant in theaters? What do you think about the experiences Leonardo DiCaprio shared about filming The Revenant? Are you looking forward to seeing his real responses and reactions, combined with his critically acclaimed acting skills displayed on the silver screen?

The Revenant is scheduled for release in theaters on Christmas day. Check out the videos below to watch trailers and learn more about Leonardo DiCaprio’s experiences while filming The Revenant.

Leonardo DiCaprio Slept Inside A Dead Carcass While Filming The Revenant

Filming The Revenant: Trailer 1

Filming The Revenant: Trailer 2

Leonardo DiCaprio Hunts Down Tom Hardy Trailer

Leonardo DiCaprio Is Buried Alive While Filming The Revenant

[Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox]