Movies
Leonardo DiCaprio: 'J. Edgar weight gain made me claustrophobic'
Published Tuesday, Nov 15 2011, 15:57 GMT | By Justin Harp | Add comment
Leonardo DiCaprio has revealed that putting on extra weight for J. Edgar made him feel "claustrophobic".
The award-winning actor explained that he packed on the pounds and wore heavy prosthetics because he wanted to look realistic playing husky former FBI director J Edgar Hoover.
"I had a lot of weight on me… I kept adding this weight just because I wanted to feel the weight of the country and the world on his shoulders," DiCaprio told The AP.
"I just kept feeling more and more claustrophobic, and I tried to use that for the character, because I felt like he felt more and more claustrophobic in his position: He was losing the power that he once had, he was being criticised more than ever and he tried to retain his staunch beliefs of the morals this country should live by."
Aside from gaining weight, DiCaprio said he thoroughly researched Hoover's life because he wanted to accurately portray the controversial Hoover.
"I just wanted to know everything there was to Hoover. He'd always been shrouded in so much mystery, from his personal life to his politics to his tactics to his highly controversial means of manipulating people politically," he commented.
"I wanted to know more about him, and this script for the first time answered a lot of questions I had about him and shaped a fundamentally interesting character."
DiCaprio's J. Edgar director Clint Eastwood recently praised the actor for his dedication to the film.
J. Edgar is now playing in US cinemas and is released in the UK on January 20, 2012.
> Leonardo DiCaprio: 'I hope I'm not recognisable in J. Edgar'
> Leonardo DiCaprio 'took 90% pay cut for Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar'
Watch a trailer for J. Edgar below:
The award-winning actor explained that he packed on the pounds and wore heavy prosthetics because he wanted to look realistic playing husky former FBI director J Edgar Hoover.
"I had a lot of weight on me… I kept adding this weight just because I wanted to feel the weight of the country and the world on his shoulders," DiCaprio told The AP.
"I just kept feeling more and more claustrophobic, and I tried to use that for the character, because I felt like he felt more and more claustrophobic in his position: He was losing the power that he once had, he was being criticised more than ever and he tried to retain his staunch beliefs of the morals this country should live by."
Aside from gaining weight, DiCaprio said he thoroughly researched Hoover's life because he wanted to accurately portray the controversial Hoover.
"I just wanted to know everything there was to Hoover. He'd always been shrouded in so much mystery, from his personal life to his politics to his tactics to his highly controversial means of manipulating people politically," he commented.
"I wanted to know more about him, and this script for the first time answered a lot of questions I had about him and shaped a fundamentally interesting character."
DiCaprio's J. Edgar director Clint Eastwood recently praised the actor for his dedication to the film.
J. Edgar is now playing in US cinemas and is released in the UK on January 20, 2012.
> Leonardo DiCaprio: 'I hope I'm not recognisable in J. Edgar'
> Leonardo DiCaprio 'took 90% pay cut for Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar'
Watch a trailer for J. Edgar below:
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