This morning Parade posted their new interview with Leonardo DiCaprio. The Revenant (Struggler) opens in wide release today. Leo talks a lot about his work as an environmental activist and humanitarian and how he feels a moral obligation to do more with his platform, because otherwise greed will win:

Parade: You’re famous and rich, you can have all the women you want, do whatever you like, and instead you decide you’re going to concern yourself about the fires killing orangutans in Indonesia. Why?

Leo: Because the idea of pursuing material objects your whole life is absolutely soulless. Steve Jobs [co-founder of Apple] sat on his deathbed talking about how greed and wealth is the root problem of everything. I believe that too. My career has given me so much from a material standpoint. I feel that I absolutely need to give back in whatever capacity I can. It’s my moral obligation.

“Pursuing material objects …is… soulless.”

Is that the same as, um, exclusively pursuing models?

Obviously not. Because Leo really cares about women. He says he finds them interesting and undervalued:

Parade: Why is the role of women in (The Revenant) so small and the men so gruesome and dominating?

Leo: This represents the savagery of a lawless culture. Women have been the most persecuted people throughout all of recorded history, more than any race or religion.

That’s a prewritten statement if I ever read one. Same goes for this one, in response to a question about whether or not he believes in marriage:

“That time will come when that time comes. The truth is, you can’t predict marriage. You can’t plan it. It’s just going to happen when it happens.”

Um, that’s not a real answer. It’s a note card. And if you’re going to quote a notecard, make it shorter. “Life is unpredictable.” Generic but at least it’s brief.

But anyway, let’s go back to the part where Leo’s in solidarity with the plight of women. Once again, his comment about why women are so insignificant in The Revenant, which sounds like it was taken from a textbook:

Leo: This represents the savagery of a lawless culture. Women have been the most persecuted people throughout all of recorded history, more than any race or religion.

Sure. But please note that earlier in the interview, Parade cites Leo’s film interests, and why he chooses the films he chooses:

Parade: You frequently star in films based on real people and events in history, such as J. Edgar, The Wolf of Wall Street, Gangs of New York and now The Revenant. Why?

Leo: I like stories in specific time periods. The Revenant’s era of American history was fascinating because it was this lawless no-man’s land. It defined the idea of the American frontiersman as man conquering nature. In a way, the story of Hugh Glass is about man dominating nature.

The women in The Revenant were minor figures because that’s a reflection of the era and the culture. He “likes stories in specific time periods”, more often than not, time periods where, um, women are victims to “the savagery of a lawless culture”.

You’re Leonardo DiCaprio. You can make any movie you want. You can tell any story you want to tell. And you keep telling stories from those times periods? That’s what you’re drawn to? “Specific time periods” when women didn’t have a voice? When women had yet to demand equality? THOSE are the projects you invest in?

Well, sh-t. No wonder he figured out that “women have been the most persecuted people throughout all of recorded history”. Seems like he keeps living it, artistically.

Click here to read Leo’s full interview in Parade.