20 Things You Didn't Know About Django Unchained
18. Leonardo DiCaprio Was Uncomfortable With Playing A Racist
Understandably, Leonardo DiCaprio found it difficult playing Calvin Candie, a racist plantation owner who uses racial slurs in every conversation. He spoke to Indiewire about it: “This was my first attempt at playing a character that I had this much disdain for. It was an incredibly uncomfortable environment to be in. I’ve seen racism growing up but the degree I had to treat other people in this film was disturbing. It was a very uncomfortable situation.”
Jamie Foxx described a Samuel L. Jackson pep talk to DiCaprio to help him get over his discomfort: “There was a mini-ovation,” Foxx said. “We were in rehearsal and Leo would say his lines, and he would say, ‘Woo, this is tough.’ Sam Jackson pulled him aside and said, ‘Listen, motherfucker, this is just another Tuesday for us.’ I saw Leo the next day and I said, ‘What’s up Leo?’ And he didn’t respond to me. It was crazy from my perspective."
DiCaprio went for broke and received spontaneous applause after the scene in which Candie explodes at Django for his deceit.