When Leonardo DiCaprio took home the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role Sunday, he did more than earn a long-awaited award; he put the spotlight on climate change.
After thanking the Academy and those who have supported him in his career and in his life, the star of “The Revenant” turned to environmental concerns.
“Making The Revenant was about man's relationship to the natural world. A world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow,” DiCaprio said.
“Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.”
DiCaprio’s Academy Awards speech was not the first time he’s been in the public eye about climate change. DiCaprio is a known environmentalist and in 2007 even created a documentary, “The 11th Hour” on global warming.
“Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you so very much,” DiCaprio said to conclude his Oscars speech.