Leonardo DiCaprio on 'Voyeuristic' Bear Attack in 'The Revenant': People Will Talk About That Moment for a Whi
Leonardo DiCaprio is fairly certain his new film The Revenantis nothing short of "groundbreaking."
In The Revenant, DiCaprio stars as legendary explorer Hugh Glass, who was left for dead by his expedition team after getting viciously mauled by a grizzly bear, which meant the film called for an intense scene of DiCaprio getting attacked.
ET was with the 41-year-old star on Wednesday for a screening in New York City of his critically-acclaimed adventure epic, where he praised director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's crafting of the gritty scene.
WATCH: Leonardo DiCaprio Wrestles a Bear in Intense Trailer for 'The Revenant'
"I think he watched hundreds of clips on bear attacks," DiCaprio revealed. "But they wanted to do something very visceral, very real, almost like virtual reality. So the audience felt voyeuristic, like they're witnessing something they shouldn't be witnessing."
According to DiCaprio, the scene is going to be something that sticks with viewers, and will likely have an impact on the future of filmmaking.
"I think what he and [cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki] achieved in this sequence is gonna be groundbreaking cinematically," DiCaprio said. "I think people are gonna be talking about that sequence for a while."
It's hard to argue that Iñárritu and Lubezki's track record is anything short of stellar. They both won Oscars last year for their work on Birdman and Lubezki took home his first Oscar in 2014 for his work on Iñárritu's Gravity.
But it's DiCaprio's performance in The Revenant that's getting a lot of attention. He’s nominated for a Golden Globe and may snag another Oscar nomination for his performance -- but he's not letting the stress of winning awards get to him.
"You've already made your movie and all you can do is be on set and give it all you possibly have and be fully committed to the movie," DiCaprio said of awards season. "Then you give it off to the world to be critiqued or ripped apart or you know, applauded. It's really beyond your control."
WATCH: 'The Revenant' Cast Recalls the Challenges of Filming Without Electric Lights
"That's the one peace of mind that you have with all of this," he added. "You've done the work."
The Revenantis currently in limited release, and opens wide on Friday.
For more on The Revenant's challenging production in some incredibly difficult locales, check out the video below.
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