Why Leonardo DiCaprio had co-star Meryl Streep’s nude scene nixed on new film

Meryl Streep was apparently meant to have a nude scene in her new movie Don’t Look Up, but co-star Leonardo DiCaprio nixed the idea.

According to the film’s director Adam McKay, the actor was distressed when discovering Streep was to appear nude in the film. 

“You know who had a problem with it? Leo,” McKay revealed in a new interview with The Guardian, adding DiCaprio just “views Meryl as film royalty … although maybe royalty is not a compliment … but as such a special figure in the history of film.”

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In the satirical sci-fi about two astronomers going on a media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet, Streep plays President Janie Orlean — and the script called for her character to be filmed nude from behind.

That is until DiCaprio stepped in and a body double was then used for the scene. 

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“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,'” McKay recalled. 

But the director said the scene didn’t faze Streep, a three-time Oscar winner from 21 nominations.

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“[S]he didn’t even blink. She didn’t even bring it up,” he said of her reading the script. 

Earlier this month, DiCaprio told Access Hollywood that the cast, which included Jennifer Lawrence and Jonah Hill, were “on their toes when Meryl walked in” on set for the first time. 

“Look, 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 told the outlet.

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