Meryl Streep is no stranger to stripping down on the big screen. The three-time Oscar winner shed her clothes for a skinny dipping scene in the 1994 film The River Wild and went topless for a massage scene in the 1982 psychological thriller Still of the Night.
Despite her past experience, co-star Leonardo DiCaprio had a problem with her character’s nude scene in the upcoming disaster comedy Don’t Look Up. It is shocking that DiCaprio, of all people, would have a problem with a woman over the age of 25 in a state of undress.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, director Adam Mckay revealed that DiCaprio thought it was unnecessary to show Streep’s character in the buff.
“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?””
It’s possible DiCaprio was in opposition because he looks up to Streep. They first worked together in 1996 for the drama Marvin’s Room, where DiCaprio was in his early 20s, but now that he is older, he may feel a certain responsibility to protect those he admires, which. McKay shared his thoughts on why DiCaprio was opposed to the scene.
“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.”
Despite DiCaprio voicing his opposition, Streep had no issues whatsoever, and when the scene came up, she “didn’t even blink. She didn’t even bring it up.” From what we’ve heard so far, Streep seemed to be very relaxed on set and was one of the few people who found Jonah Hill’s fart machine antics funny, or it could be because it wasn’t actually Streep that was in the buff. McKay revealed that the person in the shot wasn’t Streep, but rather it was a body double. Either way, it’s Streep’s call, not DiCaprio’s.
Don’t Look Up follows two low-level astronomers played by DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, who joked that working with DiCaprio was hell, who must warn the world of an approaching comet that could wipe out all of mankind. They must convince Streep as American President Janie Orlean to listen to their plight. Don’t Look Up is currently in cinemas and will hit Netflix this month on the 24th.