Leonardo DiCaprio Wore a Fake Butt for Spanking Scene With Robert De Niro
Martin Scorsese's epic new film Killers of the Flower Moon marks the first time Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro have worked with the legendary director at the same time on the same movie. All three of them take their craft seriously, especially when it comes to getting that final shot to look as realistic as possible.
In one scene in the movie, De Niro, who plays DiCaprio's character's uncle, spanks him repeatedly on the behind with a paddle. It may be hard to notice, but DeNiro isn't actually hitting DiCaprio's butt.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto spoke of the paddling in an interview with Insider. "I don't think that was in the first script," he said. "That was something that was added, and it's shocking in the film." While it makes for a compelling scene on screen, there was no mention of anyone being paddled in David Grann's acclaimed nonfiction book the movie is based on.
When Prieto watched the spanking scene being shot, he felt for DiCaprio, though he knew there was some movie magic at work to reduce the pain he suffered. "I do remember doing them quite a few times and thinking, 'Oh, that must hurt,'" Prieto said of the many takes. "There was some padding on his butt. But you could tell De Niro was really hitting him."
"Leo is game for so much," he added. "He'll do anything."
It's hardly the craziest thing DiCaprio has done for a movie, though wearing padding might be good training if he ever wants to take on a role as a drag queen.
