Hollywood friendships are most often formed and fortified through two actors who get the opportunity to professionally work together. This on-screen camaraderie then transforms into a personal bond off the sets over the course of their careers. Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Norton’s friendship though, did not begin in this manner. In fact, both celebrities have never been in a film together.
DiCaprio and Norton’s bromance was first evident when both of them were spotted together in 2013 wearing identical outfits at an event. Their close friendship was elaborated further by the Primal Fear actor with his interesting trivia about the Titanic star being obsessed with gadgets. This though, almost resulted in a fatal blow to DiCaprio’s life, with Norton stepping in to save him.
Leonardo DiCaprio Almost Drowned Owing To His Device Fixation
Good friends go to the ends of the world to help and support each other, and that’s exactly what Edward Norton did for Leonardo DiCaprio. The two stars who have never shared screen space, were brought together by their common passion for the environment, and became thick friends. Their friendship was soon tested when DiCaprio had to depend on The Incredible Hulk actor to literally save his life.
Norton spoke about his brotherhood with The Departed actor and revealed that DiCaprio was obsessed with devices, and spent a significant part of his day hooked on to them. This habit though, almost cost the Oscar winner his life. Norton, who was on a scuba diving trip to Galápagos Island with DiCaprio, noticed that his friend, who was continuously playing around with a digital camera to capture images in the water, suddenly disappeared from his line of vision. In The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he expanded on the encounter and said,
“So we’re in the water, and after a while, I’m looking around, and I realize he’s just not there. He’s not around, and I think to myself, I know Leo, I know how he is with his devices, he’s probably got his face in that camera and he’s gone way off, following these things.”
As the tension continued to build, Norton spotted DiCaprio swimming frantically towards him signaling that he was almost out of oxygen. The Asteroid City star immediately jumped into action mode in the water and shared his oxygen tank with The Aviator actor. Fortunately for the two celebrities, the disaster was diverted and DiCaprio vowed never to put himself in this position again.
Also Read: Leonardo DiCaprio Made Zac Efron Cry in Public and You Can’t Blame Him
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Improvisations Did Not Impress Robert De Niro
There is never a dull moment when one is Leonardo DiCaprio’s friend, and Edward Norton proved that with a memorable and harrowing holiday story involving the Oscar winner. It seems like the Wolf Of Wall Street star is quite a handful on set as well, and is known to keep his directors and co-stars on their toes.
Veteran actor Robert De Niro who shared screen space with DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon, did not have a completely smooth equation with his co-star. Both Oscar winners are known to have very different approaches to acting, with DiCaprio being famous for his improvisations on set.
This process did not find favor with either Scorsese or DeNiro who both felt that the Titanic star would do well to curb his ad-libbing and stick with the script on occasion. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, The Departed director revealed the constant clashes between DiCaprio and the Taxi Driver actor about how to create a particular scene in the film.
“Then Bob didn’t want to talk. Every now and then, Bob and I would look at each other and roll our eyes a little bit. And we’d tell [Leo], ‘You don’t need that dialogue.’”
With Killers of the Flower Moon making waves worldwide for Martin Scorsese’s directorial skills and DiCaprio’s and DeNiro’s performances, it is evident that both actors managed to iron out their creative differences when it mattered the most.
