Leonardo DiCaprio has kissed a lot of his female co-stars, being the heartthrob that he is. But we never imagined he'd kiss one particular female co-star, and it probably shocked a lot of fans.
DiCaprio's kiss with Joanna Lumley in The Wolf of Wall Street was a cringe-fest for both the actor and actress and, going in to shoot it, DiCaprio was absolutely nervous.
The Titanic alum might not really enjoy any of his on-screen kisses, but having one with the Absolutely Fabulous alum and English national treasure, probably only made matters worse for DiCaprio. Thankfully his scene with Lumley will not go down as one of his most memorable scenes ever.
Here's why DiCaprio was so nervous kissing the older woman.
Lumley Says You Can't Really Enjoy An On-Screen Kiss
Who wouldn't like kissing Leonardo DiCaprio? Lumley was certainly intrigued by having to kiss DiCaprio but when there's a kiss scene in any film, it's just not as fun. It's not that the kiss was bad for Lumley, she just didn't like doing it.
The kiss came during the part of the film where Jordan needs to hide his money in a Swiss bank account. His brilliant plan to find a "rathole with a European passport." So he turns to Lumley's character, Aunt Emma, who is his wife's British aunt.
He goes to meet her and asks her if she'll open the account in her name. They take a walk through Hyde Park talking about it and for some reason things get sexually charged.
First Jordan thinks Emma is hitting on him, so he starts to hit on her, and just as she realizes this, Jordan kisses her. It's a weird twist of events and Emma realizes this too, so she stops him.
Maybe the reason why Lumley didn't enjoy it so much is that director Martin Scorsese made them do it 15 times to get it just right, and doing on-screen kisses, in general, can demand a lot and take the fun out of it.
"I did kiss Leonardo DiCaprio, about 15 times in fact," Lumley revealed at a dinner for the Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope charity. "But I'll let you into a secret. It's actually no fun kissing actors, no fun at all. There are so many takes and you both have to chew so much chewing gum. It's like kissing someone in a dentist's waiting room."
Although Lumley comes from a comedy background and funny little kisses like this should be no problem for her, she was probably not used to doing them this many times. In fact, it may have been even more than 15 times.
Lumley told The Mirror back in 2014 that it was more like 27 times, and that both of them were pumped on peppermint as a "courtesy" to the other.
"You both chew gum and eat peppermints as if you’re disinfecting a hospital," she said. "Actors are very sensitive about that because if you’re singing or talking close to someone in front of the camera, or kissing, it is really quite intrusive. It’s just a courtesy – teeth cleaned virtually to extinction."
DiCaprio Was Nervous
Out of all the parties and shenanigans that happen in the film, DiCaprio's favorite part of filming was flirting with Lumley.
"She is an incredibly beautiful, charming woman," DiCaprio told the Evening Standard before the film premiered in London. "We decided on those make-out sessions that we have quite spontaneously, and she rolled with it. I loved that flirting scene we had together."
Even though he liked the flirting part of the scene, DiCaprio was still nervous about locking lips with the older woman. And those 27 takes? The reason for them, along with Scorsese's pickiness, was DiCaprio's nervousness.
"Unfortunately, with the kissing, he took a while getting used to it. So I was like, 'Try, try again.' There were 27 takes!" Lumley told The Sun.
In an appearance on the Graham Norton Show, Lumley further explained the scene. When asked about the kiss, she said, "Obviously it was one of the main reasons I took the part…Leo was an adorable guy. He’s sensational, a fantastic actor and I had always longed to meet him."
Why would DiCaprio be nervous though? Lumley is definitely the kind of person who'd be able to defuse the tension, and after all, it wasn't the most romantic kiss ever. This wasn't Jack kissing Rose. Either way, it's interesting to hear what makes an actor like DiCaprio nervous. Maybe he felt like he was kissing the Queen?
On another note, this wasn't the only time DiCaprio's kissed an older woman. He once kissed Dame Maggie Smith on a Kiss Cam gag at the BAFTAs in 2016. He was a good sport and gave her a sweet little kiss.
On the other hand, Margot Robbie was terrified of her nude scenes with DiCaprio. She'd probably agree with Lumley that on-screen kisses aren't fun either. There were no fireworks because "you do the takes in 17 hours, and it’s just hot and sweaty."
"At first I was absolutely petrified. No matter how much mental preparation I did, I was still very nervous about it," Robbie said.
At least we know that DiCaprio's on-screen kisses are good and that he treats his female co-stars, no matter their age, like goddesses. He'd even blast away his taste buds with peppermint for them.