During a recent appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Leonardo DiCaprio revealed he had a close encounter with a shark during a cage diving expedition. He was invited to take part in the expedition by an organization dedicated to saving sharks and after they’d lowered the actor from a boat off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, a tuna fish that got into the cage attracted one of the sharks. The door to the cage opened and the shark swam in to eat the tasty morsel. Leo explained: “I had a huge fear of sharks, and when I did Blood Diamond in 2006 I actually got stuck in a cage with a great white…. the great white leapt out and tried to bite [the tuna] and went into the cage with me.” Luckily for Leo, sharks aren’t interested in people, so despite the shark’s close proximity, it didn’t attack and left the cage after getting the tuna. He further explained: “Half of its body was in and out, and I flattened down at the bottom.” As has been proven in movies such as Sharkwater, sharks aren’t interested in people – they sometimes attack humans thinking they’re seals, but spit them as soon as they realize. Despite the intensity of the moment, Leo, whose Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation focuses on protecting endangered species, called the experience “awesome.” ~Yara Matar