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Leonardo DiCaprio Struggled Filming ‘The Revenant’: Had To Cast Vegetarianism Aside, Director Kept Leo’s Real Reactions In

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 17:34 PST, Jan 2, 2016

Leonardo DiCaprio established himself as a top-notch actor early on, especially in his role in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. He has been in high demand over the years due to his skill and this was evident when he was asked to take on the role of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels, a role he declined.

In a recent interview with ShortList, Leonardo DiCaprio talked about his decision to 4turn down the coveted Star Wars role, as well as the role of Robin in Batman Forever. When it came to Batman Forever, Leonardo DiCaprio said he met with Joel Schumacher, but turned down the part.

“I never screen-tested. I had a meeting with Joel Schumacher. It was just one meeting and, no, I didn’t end up doing it.”

He added that he didn’t really want the role of Robin.

“Er, I don’t think I did, no (laughs). As I recall I took the meeting, but didn’t want to play the role. Joel Schumacher is a very talented director but I don’t think I was ready for anything like that.”

He also said he sat down with George Lucas and talked with him, but he just wasn’t ready for that part either.

“I did have a meeting with George Lucas about [Star Wars] as well, yes.”

However, apparently Leonardo DiCaprio was ready to take on his role in his newest movie, The Revenant, and this was a role that tested him to his core. Yahoo! Movies sat down with DiCaprio and discussed the film with him. DiCaprio said the movie is a unique experience for audiences.

“It’s going to be one of the most unique film-going experiences that audiences have seen in modern times.”

It’s true that the cinematography and music are divine.

But so are the performances of the actors. Leonardo DiCaprio also talked about what he had to do in order to make the movie a true immersive experience for audiences.

“I can name 30 or 40 sequences that were some of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. Whether it’s going in and out of frozen rivers, or sleeping in animal carcasses, or what I ate on set. [I was] enduring freezing cold and possible hypothermia constantly. 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.”

Keep in mind, Leonardo DiCaprio is a vegetarian so he had to do some things that were way out of his comfort zone in order to prepare for the movie. See the trailer here.

DiCaprio truly looks like a wild man! Incredible! Leonardo DiCaprio said he knew what he was getting into when he took the role in The Revenant.

“The truth is that I knew what I was getting into. This was a film that had been floating around for quite some time, but nobody was crazy enough to really take this on, simply because of the logistics of where we needed to shoot and the amount of work and rehearsal that would have to be done to achieve Alejandro’s [and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s] vision. They’re very specific about their shots and what they want to achieve, and that — compounded with the fact that we were in an all-natural environment, succumbing to whatever nature gave us — was something that became more of a profoundly intense chapter of our lives than we ever thought it was going to be.”

Congratulations on your epic movie, Leonardo DiCaprio. You are a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination and perhaps the win!

[Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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