Leonardo DiCaprio Nicknamed Stephen Graham 'Animal' After He Almost Broke His Leg

Stephen Graham was given the nickname Animal by Leonardo DiCaprio after he very almost broke his leg during a bizarre incident with a golf cart.

The pair worked together on the 2002 blockbuster Gangs of New York and the pair quickly struck up a friendship - despite DiCaprio sometimes struggling to understand Graham's strong Scouse accent.

During a 2019 interview on The Jonathan Ross Show, Graham revealed that one day he decided to ask DiCaprio if he could get behind the wheel of the golf cart he used to get around on set, but things went badly wrong and he ended up almost jeopardising the movie.

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

He explained: "Two days before we're due to start work he's driving around in this golf cart and I've asked him if I can have a go.

"I'm driving this golf cart straight down the hill and we've come to a corner, and I've looked at DiCaprio and, we're bombing down this hill and as I've turned the corner, I've hit a brick and the golf cart started to tip.

"It's gone like in slow motion and, as it's gone, his leg's underneath.

"It looks like it's going to land on his foot. And then he just pulled it in and it's hit the floor."

The pair were both flung from the car and upon getting back up to their feet, Graham says the Hollywood star told him: "We nearly...you could have broken my leg!"

PA

As you can probably imagine, Graham was full of apologies at this point - not least because any injuries like that could have held up filming.

"This is a 150million dollar film we might not have been able to film it," he said.

But thankfully, DiCaprio didn't seem to mind, telling him: "I f***ing love you man. You're crazy."

Graham says from there on out, DiCaprio affectionately nicknamed him 'Animal' due to his wild ways.

Graham went on to say the pair remain close and he even stays at DiCaprio's gaff when he visits Los Angeles.

PA

However, he also admitted that the star sometimes struggled to understand his accent.

He added: "There was one point where I went, 'Man, do you see that squirrel?'

"And he went, 'What!' I went, 'Squirrel.' He was like, 'What's a squirrllee? What the f***?' I went, 'No, a squirrel.' He went 'Ah, you mean a sq-whirl.'

"I was like, 'No, a squirrel'."

Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19