Leonardo DiCaprio has always had a penchant for choosing challenging roles that have required the actor to give every ounce of himself physically and emotionally. From enduring freezing waters in James Cameron’s blockbuster Titanic to eating raw bison to prepare for his Oscar-winning turn in The Revenant, the celebrity has never shied away from pushing the envelope.
While many of DiCaprio’s contemporaries may have shunned this type of method acting, the Shutter Island star’s training and skills actually ended up being a saving grace in real life. During the filming of Don’t Look Up, the star who had brought his two dogs along, ended up saving the canines’ lives with his heroic feat.
Leonardo DiCaprio Showed Daring Courage To Save His Dogs
Leonardo DiCaprio has always been up for any challenge. Through his eclectic filmography that saw him taking on a variety of roles, the star has proved multiple times that he has the skill set to conquer any performance and make it memorable.
This tenacity has led to the actor almost courting death many times during filming and away from it. In an interview with WIRED, the actor spoke of these tricky moments which included almost succumbing to hypothermia in The Revenant from constantly filming in brutal conditions. He was also nearly mauled by a shark in South Africa during a vacation with friends.
The celebrity also spoke about another close call when he went skydiving in which he almost plummeted to his death while free falling for a few excruciating seconds following a knotted parachute. Then there was his flight to Russia when a wing of the plane exploded in a ball of fire in front of his eyes.
These risks have never deterred DiCaprio from training and preparing arduously for every part that he attempts including going to extreme measures for his films. While the Oscar winner has played many heroic characters on screen, he ended up becoming a hero in reality for his beloved dogs thanks to his intrinsic daredevil attitude.
In an interview with EW during the promotions of Don’t Look Up, DiCaprio, his co-stars Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, and director Adam McKay elaborated on many interesting experiences they shared together on the sets of their film, which ultimately led them to the topic of the Oscar winner’s two dogs.
McKay revealed that there was never a dull moment with the two active canines who were on the sets with DiCaprio and continuously kept him on his toes during production. This was a big source of entertainment for everyone.
“The funniest thing was, Leo has these two rescue huskies that are just absolute tornadoes. Jonah would send me pictures of your ripped-apart couch.”
This recollection provided the perfect segue for Lawrence to push The Beach star to talk about one specific incident involving the dogs almost drowning in a lake. The Joy actor began narrating what transpired and said,
“One of the dogs fell in. and he jumped in the frozen lake to save the dog and as soon as he pushed the one dog out of the pond the other one jumped in.”
Speaking of his instinct that led him to take matters into his own hands, DiCaprio said,
Yeah, and then I went in. [Living in California] I didn’t understand what you do at a frozen lake.”
Lawrence added that she and McKay who went to give the actor a helping hand, also fell into the lake thanks to the two dogs’ uncontrollable behavior. Looking back, the three celebrities had a good laugh reminiscing about how the two sprightly canines caused chaos and almost gave then a heart attack.
The Aviator Challenged Leonardo DiCaprio Like Never Before
It is common knowledge that Leonardo DiCaprio is willing to push his limits to the maximum to become one with his characters. But one film with his favorite director tested his resolve like no other movie had done before.
In 2004, Martin Scorsese cast DiCaprio in The Aviator, a biographical drama based on successful film producer and aviation magnate Howard Hughes who gradually becomes unstable owing to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The film went on to receive positive responses for DiCaprio’s involved performance and Scorsese’s intuitive direction.
But The Revenant star confessed that transforming into the complex persona of Howard Hughes took a big mental toll on him. Elaborating specifically on his preparation for the scene which shows the character’s mental breakdown, DiCaprio said to Pop Entertainment,
“You get into your own headspace and really don’t want to talk to anyone. I spent a lot of time just sitting around the screening room alone”.
The Shutter Island star went on to state that despite the challenges, he felt that the effort was completely worth it after watching the film and the impact it had on audiences and critics worldwide.
Don’t Look Up is streaming on Netflix.
The Aviator is streaming on amazon Prime.
