⁠“Disappear as much as you possibly can”: Leonardo DiCaprio shares his candid reason behind always covering his face in public

Leonardo DiCaprio has now revealed why he is rarely spotted in public without a cap or face mask. He says that his long-standing practice of hiding his face stems from his wish to maintain his privacy and to preserve the longevity of his acting career. Speaking about it to TIME, he said:

"Just disappear as much as you possibly can."

DiCaprio spoke to TIME about his complicated relationship with celebrity and public attention, in an interview where the 51-year-old actor was named the publication's 2025 Entertainer of the Year. According to the Titanic actor, balancing personal privacy with international fame remains challenging, and indeed, after several years in the spotlight. He said:

"It's been a balance I've been managing my whole adult life and still I'm not an expert."

He added:

"I think my simple philosophy is only get out there and do something when you have something to say, or you have something to show for it. Otherwise, just disappear as much as you possibly can."

Leonardo DiCaprio went on to say that keeping a low profile outside of work has been essential to maintaining his lengthy career:

"I was like, okay, how do I have a long career? Because I love what I do, and I feel like the best way to have a long career is to get out of people's face."

How sudden fame changed everything for Leonardo DiCaprio

With its release in 1997, Titanic brought Leonardo DiCaprio huge success, money, creative freedom and also fame, which he does not enjoy much. Speaking about the time before he experienced sudden fame after the release of Titanic in 1997, he told Deadline in 2016 that he did not understand the scope of the movie's influence:

"That's an interesting question. Before Titanic, I had no conception of what any of that meant. It was shocking."

He added:

"People said, 'Do you realize how big of a movie this is?' I said, 'Yeah, it's big. It's a big movie.' They're like, 'No. No. No, it's the biggest movie ever,' and I'm like, 'Well, what does that mean? So it's big.' They're like, 'No. No. No, you don't get it. You don't understand what this means.' I thought, okay, great, it made a lot of money, and people are seeing it."

Leonardo DiCaprio pointed out that neither he nor his co-star Kate Winslet could have predicted the movie's cultural explosion. Leonardo said:

"I said, 'Okay, slow down. Let all this pass a little bit, and let's get back to…find something that…'

He continued:

"I knew it was going to be an adjustment. I knew there was an expectation of me to do a certain thing at that point, and I knew I had to get back to what my intentions were from the onset."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Oscar winner, best known for movies like The Wolf of Wall Street, The Revenant, Catch Me If You Can, and This Boy's Life, became even more dedicated to avoiding prolonged exposure by starting to wear face masks on a regular basis. Leonardo DiCaprio claims the habit just never went away.

Even at the wedding of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in Venice, DiCaprio was seen trying to blend in by pulling his cap low over his face.

Though Leonardo DiCaprio understands that it is something that comes along with being an actor, speaking about this, he said:

“The complete loss of your private life. And you know what, a lot of people have to deal with a lot harsher things than having their private life be public knowledge. That’s just one of the byproducts. I feel too lucky to do what I do to sit here and complain about it. It’s just one of the things you have to accept and you adapt.”

Trending

Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback