Struggles Faced by Leonardo DiCaprio While Doing “The Revenant

Twenty-two years after Leonardo Dicaprio was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” he succeeded in receiving the same award for “The Revenant.” And, it is widely known that the actor became quite a different man after the film’s shooting ended. The shooting of the film tested DiCaprio’s skills and patience like no other movie ever did. In “The Revenant,” he plays the character of “Hugh Glass,” who is a trapper roaming the Canadian wilderness in the 19th century.

“The Revenant” was directed by Alejandro Inarritu. Apart from the freezing temperatures, there was just an hour and a half of sunlight every day for shooting. The physical demands of the movie were also too intense. Many of the crew, including Dicaprio, risked hypothermia and the shooting had to stop for some time owing to the unpredictable and extreme weather conditions. The movie’s based on true incidents and the costumes had to be in sync with those of people from the 1800s.

Added to these, Leonardo Dicaprio had to wear bear fur, which weighed nearly 100 pounds! He repeatedly showed his dedication to his job in spite of the unendurable conditions. When he was given the choice of eating the real raw bison liver or a fake one made of jelly, the actor chose the former! Yes, you heard it right! Leonardo Dicaprio actually ate the raw liver of a bison when the camera was rolling. And, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There were also a host of other issues, such as the prolonged shooting schedule because of which some actors had to drop their other projects.