Photo:L. Cohen/WireImage
L. Cohen/WireImage
Leonardo DiCapriowalks the walk when it comes to generosity, according toBlood DiamonddirectorEd Zwick.
In his new memoirHits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years, Zwick, 71, recalls how he learned that DiCaprio, now 49, had given money to create a well in a village where they had filmed.
After investigating the source of the project, Zwick discovered that DiCaprio had “quietly donated the funds to leave a place in better shape” than when they arrived.
“In this, and in some many other areas of his life, Leo walks it like he talks it,” Zwick wrote.
The 2006 political thrillerBlood Diamondsaw DiCaprio as Danny Archer, a smuggler and mercenary on the hunt for a pink diamond discovered in the civil war–torn Sierra Leone. Filming took place in Mozambique and Cape Town, South Africa. According to Zwick, DiCaprio’s practice of providing aid to filming locations eventually became studio policy.
A United Nations Messenger of Peace for climate change since 2014,Don’t Look Upactor DiCaprio has remained outspoken on protecting the environment. In July 2023, he teamed up with Amazon CEOJeff Bezostolaunch a $200 million fund to save the Amazonrainforest.
Most recently, DiCaprio starred inMartin Scorsese’s acclaimedKillers of the Flower Moonplaying Ernest Burkhart, who becomes complicit in his uncle’s deadly scheme to steal oil and wealth from the Osage Nation.
Leonardo DiCaprio on Dec. 3, 2023.Rodin Eckenroth/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
Rodin Eckenroth/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty
When his costar Lily Gladstone’s Oscar nomination was revealed in January, DiCaprioposted a celebratory tribute on his Instagram.
“Congratulations to my dear friend @LilyGladstone for making Oscars history, as the first Native American woman to be nominated for Best Actress inKillers of the Flower Moon, and the fourth Indigenous actress to ever earn a nomination in the category,” he captioned a photo of Gladstone.
Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Yearsis available now wherever books are sold.
source: people.com
