The Revenant Director Finally Gives Bear Credit for Attack Scene with Leonardo DiCaprio

By Clover Hope  |  January 14, 2016 | 4:15pm
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Oscar-nominated but not Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio did a cool job in his fight scene with a rather under-appreciated bear in The Revenant. Leo and director Alejandro G. Iñárritu once again explained the logistics behind that scene in a recent interview.

During a long sit-down at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, Leo recalled his confusion upon reading the bear attack in the script. “You read the screenplay and it’s like, ‘Hugh Glass fights the bear,’” says Leo. “I was like, ‘So what do I do? Do I give him a right hook? How do I fight a bear?’”

You don’t. “It’s not a fight at all. You’re just being mauled and it’s like a giant cat throwing you around like a ball of yarn around the forest,” he says. “People have been talking about this sequence, and rightfully so.”

Iñárritu still won’t go into detail about how the scene was shot (“It would ruin the experience,” he says). But there was no stunt double and the director says, “Every trick available in cinema was used here.” Most important, he commended the star of the scene for a job well done.

“The bear was an incredible actor, by the way,” says Iñárritu. Whoa. About time.

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Image via 20th Century Fox

 
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