No nerves for Oscar nominee DiCaprio because ‘the work is done’

“I think this could be Leo’s year to win, I hope so, I think he did a brilliant job”, said Inarritu, who was effusive about his lead.

The actor is up for the best supporting actor gong for his role as John Fitzgerald in the frontier thriller, which received 12 Oscar nods in total, but he said a phone call from DiCaprio persuaded him to accept the part.

The 41-year-old star – who played American frontiersman Hugh Glass, who sustains injuries from a brutal bear attack and is left for dead by his fellow adventurer Jackson (Tom Hardy) – filmed for seven months in sub-zero temperatures and took shelter inside a dead horse in one scene.

Leonardo DiCaprio has once again been nominated in the Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar, with many insisting that this year HAS to be the year that he finally wins that much coveted Academy Award. You’ve done the work.

“The one reassuring thing about all this award season stuff is that you have absolutely no control over the outcome”, he told BBC radio.

“I keep saying to people, this was nearly like going on a grand voyage together with a crew”.

The film has already won three Golden Globes, and is nominated for Bafta Film Awards in eight categories – including Best Actor, where Leo will face competition from Eddie Redmayne, Michael Fassbender, Matt Damon and Bryan Cranston.

“We gave it our all on this film, and this appreciation from the Academy means a lot to me and my colleagues who made it possible”, Inarritu said in a statement.

“But in that sense it’s what the film is about and it has its rewards…it really portrays nature as it is, not in the way we see it in a park but as it is for real”.

“It’s an experimental art film, but done on a massive epic scale”.

“So to have something not only do as good as it’s been doing in the box office, but to get having this movie recognised by our peers, it does feel wonderful because I’ve never been a part of a film this experimental”.