So THIS Is Why Leonardo DiCaprio Has Been Growing Out His Grubby Beard

We figured Leonardo DiCaprio's messy beard was for a film role, and now we know a little bit more about it!

The first stills of Leo in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's The Revenant appeared on Entertainment Weekly today, and he's been nominated (and shut out!) five times for a Best Actor Oscar, so could this be his ticket to a golden statuette?

In case you didn't know, The Revenant is a 1800s biopic about Hugh Glass, an American fur trapper who trekked 200 miles across Missouri after being mauled by a grizzly bear. Glass was on an expedition with several partners, but they left him for dead after the attack. We're not sure how things went down once Glass got back to camp, and frankly, we don't want to know -- we'd like to save that for the movie! Tom Hardy stars as one of Glass' pals, and the film will hit theaters next Christmas.

"He’s a brave, incredible actor. I’m so surprised about how good he is," Inarritu says of DiCaprio. "I think there’s a profound understanding of humanity that I can see through his eyes." We can't wait to get a peek at the first trailer for this.