Leonardo DiCaprio, an actor best known for his roles in Titanic and Catch Me If You Can, has pledged to donate seven million dollars to help save oceans around the globe.
DiCaprio appeared at an event staged by the State Department, where he announced the donation to the creation of marine reserves.
"I got to know Leo particularly well during my campaign for president when he took time out of his life to put his celebrity to work on behalf of what he believed was the right choices for the country in terms of the environment particularly," Secretary of State John Kerry said during the second day of the Our Ocean conference.
The actor of The Wolf of Wall Street was a special guest that day.
"Thru my foundation today I'm pledging $7 million to ocean conservation projects over the next 2 years. #OurOcean2014," DiCaprio tweeted, announcing his donation on the micro-blogging site.
At the Our Ocean conference, the actor said the donation will go toward the creation of several reserves for marine life over the next two years.
On 17 June, the same day DiCaprio made his announcement; President Obama revealed the expansion of wildlife protection in the Pacific Ocean. He also announced new steps to prevent the sale of illegally-caught fish in the United States.
In February 2014, DiCaprio donated three million dollars to marine conservation group Oceana. Before he became an actor, DiCaprio wanted to be a marine biologist. He had a fascination with marine animals and the open water when he was a child.
After becoming wealthy, his first act as a philanthropist was a donation to help save the Florida manatee. The actor is currently an active diver, making his first dive 20 years ago in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.
"Protecting our planet's oceans and the marine species that call it home is one of the most pressing sustainability crises facing humanity today and a moral imperative that we must acknowledge," DiCaprio said at the time.
As friendly as DiCaprio is to the ocean, not all creatures in the sea feel the same toward the 39-year-old actor. He was recently in a shark cage when a white shark came into the cage, in a rare breach of protection from the devices. The actor laid flat against the cage, narrowly avoiding an encounter with the voracious fish.
During his remarks, Secretary of State told the press he would "refrain from a whole bunch of puns about the movie Titanic and the ocean."
