The Revenant, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is one of the most talked-about movies of the past year. There is a ton of Oscar hype for the movie, and especially for Leo, who of course still has not won an Academy Award. You might not know that the set was often unruly and that the actors did some wild things to get into character. Find out more about The Revenant below.
Number Fifteen: An Avalanche Was Created by the Filmmakers. Instead of waiting around for an avalanche to happen, the crew used planes to drop explosives onto a mountain. The actors only had the one opportunity to get the shot right – the producers couldn’t be expected make two avalanches happen.
Number Fourteen: The Filmmakers Made an Effort to Include Native American Actors. If you’ve seen the movie, you know that there are many Native American roles. But unlike other Hollywood films, where these roles are often not played by actual Native Americans, the filmmakers reached out to tribes (mostly in Canada) to ensure an authentic cast.
Number Thirteen: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Phlegm Is Real. When asked how they created Leo’s phlegm, director Alejandro Inarritu admitted that they didn’t have to. Leo got seriously sick a few times because of the weather, so he had plenty of sick to cough up naturally.
Number Twelve: Canada’s Weather Wasn’t Harsh Enough. The weather was enough to give the actors illnesses – and the temperature often fell below -40 degrees. But this wasn’t an intense enough climate for the director, so the crew also traveled to the near-arctic in Argentina to complete the shoot.
Number Eleven: Things Got Violent On Set. Apparently Tom Hardy, who was concerned that the actors were being put at risk, got into a physical altercation with the director in which he choked him.
Number Ten: T-Shirts With an Image of Tom Hardy Choking the Director Were Printed. And they were handed out on set. Guess the incident wasn’t taken too seriously at the end.
Number Nine: Leo Began Competitive Axe-Throwing. Part of the research for the role was to learn to become like a 19th-century outdoorsman, and Leo took this seriously. He had learned to throw axes years ago for his film Gangs of New York, and he improved on his unusual skill for The Revenant. That’s it for part one, but check back soon for part two of this list!