Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t want Meryl Streep stripping naked in Don’t Look Up.
McKay spoke with The Guardian about Streep’s role as President Orlean in the Netflix picture, which also stars Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Timothée Chalamet, Tyler Perry, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande, and others. The director explained that Streep, 72, was committed to her character’s brief naked scene, whilst DiCaprio, 47, was unsure.
“She is fearless. And yes, that is a body double. But you know who had a problem with it? Leo,” said McKay. “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.”
McKay continued: “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?’ And I was like: ‘It’s President Orlean; it’s not Meryl Streep.’ But she didn’t even blink. She didn’t even bring it up.”
DiCaprio has known Streep for decades, which perhaps explains his unease with the idea of the screen queen being stark naked on film.
Streep played DiCaprio’s mom in the 1996 drama Marvin’s Room, which also starred Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro.
DiCaprio told E! that he and the rest of the Golden Globe-nominated Don’t Look Up cast were nervous to be on set with Streep.
“You get to work with the greatest living actor in the world.
Everyone’s on their toes. Everyone’s prepared, and we’re just trying to keep up with her,” he explained.
