Leonardo DiCaprio does not exactly believe in phoning it in. For every role, the actor digs deep, whether studying real stockbrokers for The Wolf of Wall Street or enduring intense emotional and physical strains for The Basketball Diaries. He also taught himself by devouring classic films, mastering dialects, studying human psychology, and committing fully to one project at a time.

That dedication, however, is no stranger to the limits he has shared crossing, one involving raw bison liver for Oscar-glory.

In a 2016 interview, Leonardo DiCaprio told Chris Van Vliet just how seriously he approached The Revenant. The actor wanted every detail of his performance as Hugh Glass to feel believable, even when the prop department offered a fake liver for one scene. DiCaprio felt the imitation looked unconvincing, so he opted for something considerably more authentic.

The choice was certainly not the most pleasant part of filming. DiCaprio later described the texture as strange and uncomfortable, while director Alejandro González Iñárritu kept his genuine reaction in the final cut. That small moment helped give the scene an extra layer of realism, without requiring DiCaprio to hide his very real discomfort.

Speaking to Chris Van Vliet, DiCaprio also recalled watching a Native American actor eat raw bison flesh during rehearsals, which influenced his approach to the scene. His commitment ultimately became part of an acclaimed performance, earning Leonardo DiCaprio the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Revenant. It really does seem that the Academy loves raw performances.

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The stomach-churning moment was only the tip of the iceberg in what DiCaprio endured for The Revenant, a project Andrew Haigh has compared with his new film.

The liver was only one small part of Leonardo DiCaprio’s commitment to The Revenant. The actor spent hours rehearsing in freezing conditions, plunged into icy rivers wearing heavy period costumes, and learned survival skills such as building fires and using a flintlock musket. He also worked with experts to master Pawnee and Arikara.

Then there was the physical preparation, with DiCaprio spending hours in makeup while prosthetics recreated Hugh Glass’s injuries. He even climbed inside a realistic horse carcass for one survival sequence and endured demanding natural-light shoots that left little room for mistakes. All that effort ultimately helped turn The Revenant into the Academy Award-winning performance that finally earned DiCaprio his Oscar.

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Did you think going through such lengths for The Revenant was worth it for Leonardo DiCaprio? Let us know in the comments!