In "Don't Look Up," he plays a scientist desperately trying to warn the world about an upcoming disaster.
In real life, he's been using his platform to raise awareness about the climate crisis for years ... This is the story of Leo DiCaprio.
In real life, he's been using his platform to raise awareness about the climate crisis for years ... This is the story of Leo DiCaprio.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I grew up in this industry. I know this town. So many of my friends are actors. I know how hard
00:04it is to get work. I know how lucky I was to be in the right place at the right time,
00:10and had that not happened, my life would be drastically different.
00:15Leonardo is just very sincere. He's a very sincere young man, and he cares deeply. He
00:37cares deeply about people. He cares deeply about his friends, and he cares deeply about
00:44what he does in the business, and about his craft. There's kind of no joking around with
00:52him when it comes to the work itself. He's as serious as he possibly can be.
01:14I'd always dreamed that I'd be an actor and be doing well. I mean, I always had fantasies about
01:26that. Now that you're becoming more popular, people are really kind of watching you. Does
01:38that bother you at all? No, because of course, if you're an actor and anyone in the entertainment
01:47business, you're going to be watched. I mean, the first wrong move you do is going to be pushed all
01:52over the world. That's just something that comes along with being in the entertainment business,
01:55and if you want to be entertaining, you can't complain about it.
02:08Thousands of climate scientists agree that global warming is not only the most
02:38threatening environmental problem, but one of the greatest challenges facing all of humanity.
02:43I'm taking the role of a concerned citizen like everybody else. I think, like all of us do,
03:00we see that there are dramatic changes happening to our planet. It's hard not to. Certainly in
03:05the United States, we are the ones that should set an example for the rest of the world. We
03:10are the most powerful democracy in the planet, but we're also the largest polluters.
03:16As an actor, I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters, often solving fictitious
03:40problems. I believe that mankind has looked at climate change in that same way, as if it were a
03:47fiction. Clean air and a livable climate are inalienable human rights, and solving this crisis
03:54is not a question of politics. It is a question of our own survival. The challenges before us
04:09require each and every one of us to take action. We owe this to ourselves, but more importantly,
04:15we owe it to future generations who are counting on all of us.
04:31If you do not believe in climate change, you do not believe in modern science or empirical
04:38truths, and you will be on the wrong side of history. The time is now. It's imperative that
04:42we act. I feel so overwhelmed with gratitude for what happened tonight, but I feel there
04:55is a ticking clock out there. There is a sense of urgency that we all must do something proactive
05:01about this issue.
05:09We should not have a candidate who doesn't believe in modern science to be leading our
05:14country. Climate change is one of the most concerning issues facing all of humanity,
05:21and the United States needs to do its part. We should not have people in office that do not
05:27believe in facts and truths in modern science that are able to manipulate and risk the
05:37entire future of this entire generation.
05:57I have been long concerned about extinction, about the loss of biodiversity, the disappearance
06:05of our fragile ecosystems all being wiped out by human greed and indifference. So with
06:12that, I started my foundation LDF 20 years ago to work on these issues. So as the old
06:18saying goes, never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
06:24the world.
06:36The facts are clear, and unless you live in an alternate reality, there is no more time
06:42for denial. A carbon neutral future is the only way we will inherit a planet capable
06:49of sustaining life on earth as we know it.