“She didn’t even blink”: Leonardo DiCaprio Had Major Issues With 74 Year Old Actress’ N*de Scene On Set Whom He Calls ‘Film Royalty’
Don’t Look Up director, Adam McKay narrated an intriguing incident when Leonardo DiCaprio expressed alarming concern with a scene that required veteran actress Meryl Streep to be n*ked as he felt protective of the actress. He was so completely taken aback that he ended up questioning McKay.
Adam McKay’s directorial Don’t Look Up follows the Oscar-winning duo Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio as leading stars. The two portray eccentric astronomers who embarked on saving mankind mission by persuading and warning people against the disastrous comet approaching the Earth. The star-studded film also features Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Ariana Grande, Timothée Chalamet, and Tyler Perry in promising roles.
Leonardo DiCaprio views Meryl Streep as film royalty
In an interview with The Guardian, the renowned filmmaker revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio was reportedly against the n*de scene because he viewed Streep as “film royalty” and even the idea of the scene seemed unapologetically weird to him. The Titanic actor even interrogated McKay about whether the scene was necessary.
Recalling the whole incident, he said:
“Leo just views Meryl as film royalty … although maybe royalty is not a compliment … but as such a special figure in the history of film. He didn’t like seeing her with the lower back tattoo, walking for a second naked. He said something to me like: ‘Do you really need to show that?’ And I was like: ‘It’s President Orlean; it’s not Meryl Streep.’
Meryl Streep’s bold side scares Leonardo DiCaprio
The 74-year-old iconic actress of Hollywood Meryl Streep, who plays the character of Janie Orlean (the United States President) in Don’t Look Up, wonderstruck the cast with her bold scene in the movie. Praising the legendary actress’s spirit and fearlessness, McKay (via The Guardian) revealed that a body double was used to play the part. Despite Streep not filming the n*de herself, the thought of the scene was sufficient to make DiCaprio uncomfortable.
“She is fearless. And yes, that is a body double. But you know who had a problem with it? Leo [DiCaprio]. He didn’t like seeing her with the lower back tattoo, walking for a second naked. He said something to me like: “Do you really need to show that?” And I was like: “It’s President Orlean; it’s not Meryl Streep.”
McKay also added that Meryl Streep handled the whole scene quite professionally and positively. He said, “But she didn’t even blink. She didn’t even bring it up.”
Adam McKay also disclosed how he managed to turn the dream cast into reality. He said:
“I had a couple of people I wanted right from the jump. Like, I wrote the roles for Jennifer Lawrence and Rob Morgan [as a sympathetic NASA scientist]. I sort of had Meryl Streep in mind, but you never dare to think that you’re going to get her. When she signed on, it then became just a cascading effect. And then when Leonardo DiCaprio came in, I realized there was this happy accident, where this stellar cast was actually enforcing the point of view of the movie.”
Don’t Look Up is available to watch on Netflix.
