No doubt the second biggest story line heading into the 2016 Academy Awards is whether or not this will FINALLY be the year that Leonardo DiCaprio takes homes a gold statuette for his performance as the death-defying trapper Hugh Glass in The Revenant. In what will most likely be his last public remarks prior to the ceremony, Leo spoke with ABC’s Robin Roberts on the red carpet.
“Congratulations,” says Robin as Leo replies with a smiling “thank you.”
“What are your emotions when you come through here on the red carpet?” asks Robin.
“I think we’re all nervous right now,” Leo confesses. “I think that, in particular, for a film like this, which was the culmination of so much effort on all of our parts — it was really years in the making in very tough conditions — a lot of thought went into this movie, so I just feel particularly proud of this film. I think that Alejandro has achieved something that is quite transcendent cinematically and I’m just proud to be here representing a movie like this.”
“As you should be,” says Robin. “And you can see from how people are responding to just going to the film. And even though we hear about the different scenes that are very difficult to watch, but it’s more — it’s so much more than that. It’s such the struggle. And how was it for you? Because you give so much, Leo, in all your films.”
“Thank you. I mean, the truth of the matter is that, you know, I just — I feel blessed to be able to do movies like this. I’ve worked for almost 25 years in this industry, and here I am, you know, representing a movie that I feel so particularly proud of. But more so than that, I’m here with my mother.” Robin saws “Awwww” as she scans the crowd looking for Leo’s mother. Leo continues: “I’ve been in this town for 25 years, and this is the Big Show. After years and years of hard work, this is the end of it all. So it’s bittersweet as well.”
Robin asks where’s Leo’s mother is and he says “She’s out there. She hates the spotlight.”
Robin gets back to Leo and the Oscars. “You were very appreciative of that. You said that as a young kid, they said ‘Go for it. Just go for it!'”
“Well, it;s the truth. I grew up in East Los Angeles and my parents took me to auditions every day after school. They listened to me, you know? They listened to this kid who was overly ambitious and said he wanted to be an actor. And I always felt not a part of the industry, but they sort of forced me in there because they listened to a young child’s dreams. And I can never be more thankful.”
“Now you can dream in gold,” Robin says. “You see that segue right there? Leo you are always so fine. [Maybe she said “fun” but I listened to it multiple times and I swear it’s “fine!”] Thank you for sharing the challenge with us. All the best tonight.”
“Thank you very much.”
Just like everyone else in Hollywood (except, perhaps the handful of other Best Actor nominees and their families), we wish Leo DiCaprio the best of luck tonight! To catch up on his storied history of not winning, be sure to check out our complete list of all the times Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for an Academy Award with all the actors he lost to.
