Leo DiCaprio: I Was Almost Eaten by Shark

'Gigantic' great white got into cage with him
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 8, 2014 10:21 AM CST

Apparently sharks find Leonardo DiCaprio just as tasty-looking as teen girls everywhere do. The actor revealed to Ellen DeGeneres yesterday that he was once nearly eaten by a great white: He often gets up close and personal with wildlife as part of his work with his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, which aims to protect endangered habitats. But one encounter while scuba diving went a bit awry. In 2006, "I actually got stuck in a cage with a great white, which was awesome," he said, describing the shark as "gigantic."

"They actually said in 30 years, this has never happened," DiCaprio continued. "But the tuna kind of got stuck on the top of the cage, and the great white leapt out and tried to bite it, and it went into the cage with me and half of its body was in and out, and I flattened down at the bottom and it was this far away and it chomped a few times." He says he's not sure exactly how he survived the "absolutely terrifying" experience. (More Leonardo DiCaprio stories.)

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