Leonardo DiCaprio ‘had a problem’ with Meryl Streep’s nude scene in Don’t Look Up, says director

Filmmaker said the ‘Titanic’ star thought of Streep as ‘film royalty’

The director of Don’t Look Up has claimed that Leonardo DiCaprio “had a problem” with a nude scene featuring Meryl Streep.

In the film, which also stars Jennifer Lawrence, DiCaprio plays an astronomer who struggles to warn Earth’s leaders about an impending comet that will destroy the planet.

Streep, meanwhile, plays President Janie Orlean.

Speaking to The Guardian, director Adam McKay was asked about Streep’s role in the film, specifically regarding includes a scene in which her character is naked (but played by a body double).

“She is fearless,” said McKay. “And yes, that is a body double. But you know who had a problem with it? Leo [DiCaprio]. 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.

“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.”

Don’t Look Up has received mixed reviews from critics. In a four-star write-up for The Independent, Clarisse Loughrey describes the film as a “punchy, funny satire”.

The film is in cinemas now and released on Netflix on 24 December.