It was so cold when Leonardo DiCaprio filmed Alejandro G. Iñárittu’s upcoming explorer epic The Revenant that the below-zero temperatures have already created a load of controversy for the film. “I was cold basically every day, especially my hands,” DiCaprio told Entertainment Weekly, adding that an on-set warming machine was his “savior.”

Yahoo Movies debuted new photos from the film, which show the freezing weather conditions on DiCaprio and co-star Tom Hardy’s faces. Based on Michael Punke’s 2002 novel of the same name, The Revenant stars DiCaprio as real-life 19th century fur trapper Hugh Glass. After being attacked by a bear and left for dead, the explorer seeks out revenge on his former companions, played by Tom Hardy and Domnhall Gleeson.

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In one new photo, DiCaprio’s Hugh is seen trekking through the frozen locations of Calgary and Argentina, where the film was shot, and in another his beard is covered in ice. Production designer Jack Fisk told Yahoo that DiCaprio was so in character during the shoot that the actor broke his vegetarian diet to eat real bison liver in one scene. (Hey, Academy voters, is it time to finally give DiCaprio that Oscar yet?)

Hardy, who plays John Fitzgerald, is firing a gun in another photo. In the first stunning trailer for the film, Hardy and DiCaprio are seen hiding out in the snow-covered woods and engage in an intense shoot-out.

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From cinematographer Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki shooting the film in mostly natural lighting to the hazardous on-set weather conditions, The Revenant was far from easy to make. Many crewmembers who were fired or left the production have spoken out against Iñárittu and the difficult shoot. But by the looks of the gorgeous film, all of the challenges might have been worth it. “When you see the film, you will see the scale of it,” Iñárittu told The Hollywood Reporter. “And you will say, ‘Wow.’”

The Revenant opens in limited release on Christmas Day.

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