“Improving the lives of locals”: Leonardo DiCaprio’s £200,000 soft spot for rural Scotland
Leonardo DiCaprio is not only one of the best actors working today, but possibly the most consistent.
While even the greatest actors of all time have a few duds in their filmographies, DiCaprio has seemingly made it a priority to only work with the best of the best, having appeared in 12 films nominated for ‘Best Picture’, which is more than any other actor outside of his mentor, Robert De Niro.
The man is smart enough to turn down roles that would’ve sent his career sideways, and he’s generally been nothing but gracious when discussing his co-stars. However, his private life has been kept relatively secret, outside of a few tabloid reports that tend to emerge whenever he is promoting a new film. In an era where celebrities are analysed to death by media pundits, the fact that DiCaprio has managed to live his life off the radar of journalists is impressive.
It’s certainly an asset when it comes to the promotion of his work. Given that he only stars in one film every few years, every single project that he’s been a part of is treated as an event; it’s been 13 years since he appeared in a film that wasn’t nominated for ‘Best Picture’ (The Great Gatsby), and 15 years since he was in a flop (J Edgar). While his performances are never less than adored, it does beg the question of what on earth DiCaprio does in his ample downtime.
Rumours may circulate about which supermodels he may be involved with, but he has shown a proven strong commitment to environmental research and the battle against climate change, and in addition to producing and narrating documentaries about the importance of preserving the Earth, he has hosted meetings with several prominent world leaders, including Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump.
His most mysterious endeavour was the backing of a fundraising bill in 2024 for the Scottish government to commit to land recovery for its natural resources, and thanks to a rigorous campaign that DiCaprio waged on social media, the £200,000 target was met a day before its deadline. Led by the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, the bill sought to ‘rewild’ the nation to make it a greener place. On the Instagram post, DiCaprio said, “With this campaign, Scotland could be a world leader in rewilding its landscapes, ensuring clean air and water, storing carbon, reducing flooding, restoring wildlife, and improving the lives of locals.”
It’s the rare example of social media being used for good, as DiCaprio has rarely used his public profile for reasons other than promoting his work in both cinema and environmentalism. Since his social media profiles aren’t cluttered with late-night appearances and remarks, his posts tend to attract attention and can actually help spotlight topics that his fans may not have thought about otherwise.
Environmentalism is certainly a theme that has come up in many of his films, like The Revenant, which DiCaprio used as an opportunity to discuss the beauty and protection of the natural world, highlighting the same in his Academy Award acceptance speech for ‘Best Actor’, and Don’t Look Up served as a clear metaphor for climate change, while even Killers of the Flower Moon looked at the rampant destruction caused to indigenous lands by the oil business.
DiCaprio’s next project is Heat 2, the long-anticipated sequel from Michael Mann, where he is supposed to take on the role of Neil, played by De Niro in the original 1995 masterpiece, and although it’s unlikely that Mann will work any environmentalist themes into his crime thriller, the actor’s next public statements will certainly attract some interest.
