Alert – Leonardo DiCaprio’s Titanic heart! Oscar-winner has pulled off a string of good deeds including funding a well in Africa, saving 100 whales from a Russian jail and rescuing a man lost at SEA

Leonardo DiCaprio is known as one of the most iconic actors of all time – finally picking up an Oscar in 2016 for The Revenant.

The Titanic star, 49, has carved out a reputation not only for starring in the biggest films of his generation and routinely dating women 25 and under – but for his numerous good deeds.

DiCaprio has long been an outspoken advocate for environmental issues and established The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 aged 24 with the mission of bringing attention and funding to the protection of biodiversity, ocean and forest conservation, and climate change.

He has been honored with the Clinton Global Citizen Award for his philanthropic work and is a United Nations Messenger of Peace for climate change.

This month it emerged he had ‘quietly’ funded a well in the African village where he filmed Blood Diamond in 2006 –  and even proved lifesaver when he saved a member of the public lost at sea in 2020.

As DiCaprio’s selflessness falls under the spotlight again – DailyMail.com looks back at his kind gestures… 

Leonardo DiCaprio is known as one of the most iconic actors of all time – finally picking up an Oscar in 2016 for The Revenant – but the star has also won plaudits for his many good deeds

DiCaprio established The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 aged 24 with the mission of bringing attention and funding to the protection of biodiversity, ocean and forest conservation and climate change (pictured feeding an orangutan in Indonesia in 2016)

LEO TO THE RESCUE! STAR HELPS SAVE MAN LOST AT SEA

Leo’s character Jack Dawson famously did not survive the sinking of the Titanic in James Cameron’s blockbuster movie – but in real life, the star was hailed for his part in rescuing a man from drowning while on his Caribbean vacation in 2020.

A source confirmed to DailyMail.com that the Hollywood star, then 45, was on board a boat off the island of St. Barts that successfully located the man after he’d spent 11 hours treading water and pulled him to safety. 

The dramatic rescue occurred on December 30 when the captain of the boat DiCaprio was on board heard that a Frenchman, 24, had fallen from a cruise ship.

The actor immediately agreed the vessel should divert to aid in the search and after looking for hours in rough water, they spotted the man waving his hands.

The crew was able to pull him from the water just before nightfall as a giant rainstorm moved into the area.

DiCaprio’s vessel was the only one looking for the missing man who faced certain death in the middle of the ocean.

In fact, the boat’s captain described the successful rescue as a ‘one in a billion shot’.

Leo’s character Jack Dawson famously did not survive the sinking of the Titanic in James Cameron’s blockbuster movie – but in real life, the star was hailed for his part in rescuing a man from drowning while on his Caribbean vacation in 2020 

A source confirmed to DailyMail.com that the Hollywood star, then 45, was on board a boat off the island of St. Barts that successfully located the man after he’d spent 11 hours treading water and pulled him to safety

STAR FUNDS WELL IN AFRICAN VILLAGE

DiCaprio’s Blood Diamond director Edward Zwick revealed in his new memoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood that the star had donated money to fund a well in a village where they had filmed (pictured 2006)

Zwick said he learned DiCaprio had ‘quietly donated the funds to leave a place in better shape than when they arrived’. The movie was filmed in Mozambique and Cape Town, South Africa – pictured in the film with co-star Djimon  Hounsou

DiCaprio’s Blood Diamond director Edward Zwick revealed in his new memoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood that the star had donated money to fund a well in a village where they had filmed.

Zwick said he learned DiCaprio had ‘quietly donated the funds to leave a place in better shape than when they arrived’. The movie was filmed in Mozambique and Cape Town, South Africa.

Zwick wrote: ‘In this, and in some many other areas of his life, Leo walks it like he talks it.’

Leonardo starred in Blood Diamond with Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou – scoring another Oscar nomination for the actor.

ACTOR SECURES RELEASE OF 100 WHALES FROM RUSSIAN JAIL 

In 2019 the actor backed a campaign to release around 100 sea mammals from a ‘whale jail’ in the Primorsky region of Russia

The actor – who boasted more than 18 million followers on Twitter, tweeted a plea to sign a petition demanding the release of the whales

The petition garnered more than 1.5million signatures, with the actor later writing: ‘Thank you to everyone who signed the petition. Let’s keep up the momentum and ensure that these whales are released back into the wild where they belong’

Russian president Vladimir Putin then demanded the swift release of 11 orcas and 87 beluga whales

In 2016 – shortly after winning his Oscar the actor jetted to Indonesia to raise awareness about conservation of critically endangered Sumatran elephants

In 2019 the actor backed a campaign to release around 100 sea mammals from a ‘whale jail’ in the Primorsky region of Russia.

The animals were being held captive so they could be tamed and trained before being shipped to aquariums in China. 

The actor – who boasted more than 18 million followers on Twitter, tweeted a plea to sign a petition demanding the release of the whales. 

He wrote: ‘Please sign this petition and join me in speaking out against the inhumane capture of orcas and belugas in Russia.’

The petition garnered more than 1.5million signatures, with the actor later writing: ‘Thank you to everyone who signed the petition. Let’s keep up the momentum and ensure that these whales are released back into the wild where they belong.’

Russian president Vladimir Putin then  demanded the swift release of 11 orcas and 87 beluga whales.

STAR TACKLES HOMELESSNESS AND HUNGER ON VISIT TO SCOTLAND 

The Hollywood A-lister lent his star power to a good cause, by raising awareness of homelessness in Edinburgh in 2016 with a visit to restaurant Home – which feeds the homeless

The Hollywood A-lister lent his star power to a good cause by raising awareness of homelessness in Edinburgh in 2016.

Continuing his humanitarian work across the pond, the Oscar-winning actor was invited to visit Home eatery in Queensferry Street, a restaurant with a social purpose.

Naturally, the Wolf Of Wall Street star caused quite a frenzy during his first visit to Scotland as he waved and signed autographs for fans who lined the streets. 

Home was a new establishment set up by Josh Littlejohn and Dean Gassabi, who owns the Maison Bleue restaurants.

Social Bite co-founder Josh said: ‘It was such an honour to have Leonardo DiCaprio visit our brand new restaurant, Home.’

The restaurant, which is a joint venture between Social Bite and a local restaurant group Maison Bleue, aims to provide a great restaurant experience whilst at the same time giving customers the chance to ‘Pay it Forward’ for the homeless. 

‘Homeless people are then invited in every Monday to dine with dignity, as well as being offered job opportunities to help break the cycle of homelessness. 

Co-founder Josh Littlejohn – seen posing with Dicaprio said: ‘For Leo to choose to highlight this initiative whilst in Scotland is very humbling and we are grateful to him for raising the awareness’

‘For Leo to choose to highlight this initiative whilst in Scotland is very humbling and we are grateful to him for raising the awareness.’  

It was set up to provide training and employment for members of the Social Bite Academy, a four-year paid course for homeless people.

Biffy McKay, who was homeless for five years before joining Social Bite, said: ‘When you are homeless people don’t look at you, they look through you. 

‘I didn’t feel like person back then, I felt invisible. Now I have totally turned my life around and it has given me such a big confidence boost to cook lunch for Leo DiCaprio. I have loved him since I was little girl, it’s a dream come true.’ 

There was also a raffle for one lucky fan to win a lunch date with the star – with DiCaprio enjoying a meal with Elise Lovell, 45.

LEO LEADS $43M PLEDGE TO RESTORE WILDLIFE IN GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

In 2021 DiCaprio announced he was contributing to a $43million (£30.2million) fund towards vast conservation efforts in the Galapagos Islands [Stock image]

The plan will see efforts undertaken to preserve the endangered wildlife and environment of the islands, as well as those of all Latin American Pacific archipelagos [Stock image]

In 2021  DiCaprio announced he was contributing to a $43million (£30.2million) fund towards vast conservation efforts in the Galapagos Islands. 

The actor revealed that his social media accounts would be taken over by experts on rewilding efforts on the islands, which are among the most biodiverse places on Earth.

The initiative is in partnership with Re:wild, a conservation charity that DiCaprio recently co-founded, and will be based on decades of local conservation efforts, Ecuador’s Ministry of Environment and Water said.

The plan will see efforts undertaken to preserve the endangered wildlife and environment of the islands, as well as those of all Latin American Pacific archipelagos. 

The money will fund operations to restore Floreana Island, which is home to 54 threatened species.

It will help to reintroduce 13 locally extinct species, including the Floreana mockingbird, the first mockingbird described by Charles Darwin during his 1835 visit to the Galapagos.

The funds will also create a captive breeding programme and other methods to save the pink iguana from extinction. 

Measures will also be introduced to help to protect the island from the impact of ecotourism.  

DiCaprio is seen delivering his remarks during the Paris Agreement on climate change held at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC in 2016

‘Re:wild begins with a $43m commitment to rewild the Galapagos, to bring the Pink Iguana, the Floreana Giant Tortoise and the Floreana Mockingbird back from the brink of extinction, and to ensure the people of the Galapagos thrive with the wild,’ DiCaprio said in a Twitter post.

The actor also praised the work of Paula A Castano of Island Conservation, a wildlife NGO that protects native species:

‘More than half of Earth’s remaining wild areas could disappear in the next few decades if we don’t decisively act,’ DiCaprio said.

DiCaprio also serves on the board of several environmental protection organizations including the World Wildlife Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Pristine Seas and Oceans 5. 

He is also an advisor on The Solutions Project, an organization dedicated to scaling up the adoption of clean, renewable energy