How Edward Norton saved Leonardo DiCaprio’s life: “We’re very close to the end”
The world of Hollywood is a unique landscape for all those without a bonafide citizen card. Tinseltown feels so alien, so oddly utopian—bathed in glitz and glamour—and so wildly different from the majority of the population’s lives that to think of it as a community feels more than a little strange. However, the truth is, that actors, directors, and producers all work closely enough that they make friendships that last a lifetime, just as any factory worker might. Just ask Edward Norton and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The two men are quite possibly two of the finest actors of their generation. While the former had a slightly different trajectory into the pantheon of great performers, jumping from Fight Club and American History X into the less salubrious role of the Hulk, DiCaprio’s rise into the stratosphere is that of Hollywood legend.
DiCaprio has continually sought to challenge himself when it comes to acting. Starting out as a teen star, he could have easily fallen victim to enjoying the role of heartthrob that 1997’s Titanic provided him. Many stars have made similar moves to lean into their good looks and charisma before realising too late that all looks fade with time. Instead, he has used his career to explore a variety of expressive roles in movies helmed by filmmaking greats like Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
One might expect Norton and DiCaprio to be intertwined by their careers, but it is a different cause that unites them. “Leo is like a very old friend of mine,” Norton told Jimmy Fallon, “And our friendship is totally based on our mutual passion for environmental advocacy.”
If it wasn’t for DiCaprio’s friend, Norton, a few of those standout movies may never have happened as the latter actor saved DiCaprio from his demise in the murky depths of the ocean. The Titanic star’s love of animals almost saw him lose his life as he went searching underwater for ocean wildlife.
Norton, appearing on The Jonathan Ross show, attempted to play down his heroic role but did confess the story held “some truth” while the duo explored the Galapagos Islands on a diving trip. “It has been pumped up a bit more than it deserves,” Norton said.
“We were in the Galapagos Islands,” he explained. “We were scuba diving with Sylvia Earle, the great oceanographer. I’ve known Leo a long time and he loses his mind around animals. He really has a childlike passion for them. This flight of 100 spotted eagle rays went by below us and I saw the look on his face.”
Norton continued: “I saw him charging off with this camera that he had and I have been diving since I was 16 years old. I reflectively looked at my watch and was like, ‘We’re very close to the end.’ I saw him going off and down and I knew that wasn’t a good thing, so I followed him because I thought to myself, ‘He’s chasing these things, he’s going to run out of air’ — and he did.”
Thankfully, Norton got to DiCaprio in time to help the actor reach safety, ensuring their friendship outlasts the air in their canisters, and their respective careers continue to provide stellar performances.
