When Leonardo DiCaprio ate raw bison liver for authenticity in The Revenant

When it comes to dedication, Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t mess around. For The Revenant (2015), the actor used the complete method to portray Hugh Glass, a 19th-century frontiersman on a grueling quest for survival and revenge. Among his many challenges? Eating a raw bison liver on camera – a choice that was not in the original plan. Although the props team had prepared a jelly liver replica, DiCaprio felt it lacked authenticity.

So after working it out with his legal team, he bit into the real thing. “The membrane is like a balloon,” DiCaprio later shared, according to Variety. He described the eruption of the organ’s raw entrails as unforgettable – and unpleasant. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu was initially unenthusiastic about the risk of disease, but eventually admitted that it added a visceral truth to the performance. The liver was not the only obstacle.

DiCaprio mastered shooting a musket, starting fires, learning Native American languages ​​and working with a specialist in ancient healing techniques. He called it the most challenging role of his career, and given the brutal seven-month shoot in the Canadian wilderness, it’s easy to see why. The production itself was as unforgiving as the icy landscape. Filmed in sub-zero temperatures with only natural light, the crew battled frostbite, storms and even melting snow near the end of filming.

This forced an expensive move to Argentina, putting millions on the budget. “The weather became our nemesis,” said producer Mary Parent. Crew members endured hour-long commutes to remote sets and relied on snowmobiles for communication when cell phone signals failed.

Leonardo DiCaprio himself faced illness and extreme physical challenges. A coughing fit caught on screen didn’t work – it was due to multiple bouts of flu. Even ants were flown in from British Columbia to crawl over the actor in one scene after local conditions proved barren. “We had to fly the ants in – twice – because they panicked and died on the first flight,” joked Iñárritu.

The film’s most harrowing moment, the infamous bear attack, was an intricate dance of CGI effects, stunt choreography and torrential rain. Iñárritu wanted the scene, like much of the film, to be filmed in long takes for maximum realism. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s lens captured the raw, bone-chilling tension, aided by gory braces and a green-suited stuntman standing in for the CGI bear.

DiCaprio and Iñárritu refused to compromise, determined to create something raw and unforgettable. Their gamble paid off – The Revenant received 12 Oscar nominations and finally secured DiCaprio’s first Best Actor win.

The $135 million production became a critical and commercial hit, far more than a story of survival. It highlighted DiCaprio’s dedication and Iñárritu’s relentless pursuit of authenticity.
In the end, frostbite and raw bison liver were worth it. The Revenant remains a modern masterpiece of grit and cinematic brilliance.

For more such stories, check Hollywood news.

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