Leonardo DiCaprio had a broad smile but few words for several hundred fans who braved near-freezing temperatures and rain outside a restaurant in central Edinburgh that helps the homeless.
DiCaprio, the Oscar-winning star of The Revenant and Titanic, arrived at Home for lunch on Thursday with a smitten fan, Elise Lovell, who had won a raffle to dine with him in aid of the Social Bite homeless charity, which set up the restaurant and runs a chain of sandwich shops that train and employ homeless staff.
Apparently on his first visit to Scotland, DiCaprio was in Edinburgh as guest speaker at the Scottish Business Awards on Thursday night, following previous US guests at the event such as Bill Clinton and George Clooney.
Part of his meal at Home was prepared by Biffy Mackay, a previously homeless trainee chef who said it was the most nerve-racking thing she had ever done. Her reward was a signed note from DiCaprio reading: “To Biffy, all the best.”
Mackay added: “I steamed his couscous. He’s having lamb tagine. I told him I’ve loved him since I was nine and that I did a project about him at school. He said, ‘That’s so cool.’”
Lovell said the actor was “absolutely charming”, before adding: “It was quite surreal but a fantastic couple of hours.” After she mentioned Donald Trump’s US election win, she said DiCaprio gave little away. He “kind of laughed and said it was definitely a shock to a lot of people”.
