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Sounds like 41-year old acting star Leonardo DiCaprio has much more than movies on his mind.

DiCaprio, who stars in the new movie The Revenant, based on the real-life experiences of 19th-century frontiersman-hero Hugh Glass, is very committed to the fate of the planet, as well as climate change.

In a wide-ranging interview, the superstar also talks to writer Dotson Rader about his latest movie, what he gets from acting, and his thoughts on women and marriage, in this week’s Parade. Excerpts below:

On why he was interested in doing The Revenant:
“I like stories in specific time periods. The Revenant‘s era of American history was fascinating because it was this lawless no-man’s land. It defined the idea of the American frontiersman as man conquering nature. In a way, the story of Hugh Glass is about man dominating nature… It relates to what is going on in today’s world in a much more destructive manner‚ taking over nature for our own luxuries.”

On why women play such a small role in the movie, and the men are so gruesome and dominating:
“This represents the savagery of a lawless culture. Women have been the most persecuted people throughout all of recorded history, more than any race or religion.

On whether The Revenant‘s depiction of killing wildlife for profit in the pristine wilderness is meant as a cautionary lesson today:
“Historically we always look back at cultures that have been self-destructive and we talk about the ignorant way they treated the natural world, and we pass judgment on them. But the truth is that what we’re now doing to the natural world is a thousand times more destructive than it’s ever been before. We’re literally going through an extinction right now. We’re changing our climates irreparably, and climate change lasts tens of thousands, if not millions, of years. We don’t seem to be learning lessons from the past.”

On his childhood ambitions and what he gets from acting:

“Biology was the subject in school that I was incredibly passionate about. As a kid I was going to be a marine biologist or an actor… Life can get pretty monotonous. Acting is like living multiple lives. When you make a movie, you go off to different places, live different cultures, investigate somebody else’s reality, and you try to manifest that to the best of your ability. It is incredibly eye-opening. That’s why I love acting, There’s nothing as transformative as what a film, a documentary, can do to get people to care about something else besides their own lives.”

On why, although rich and famous, he chooses to be concerned about climate-change efforts, such as the fires killing orangutans in Indonesia:

“Because the idea of pursuing material objects your whole life is absolutely soulless. Steve Jobs [co-founder of Apple] sat on his deathbed talking about how greed and wealth is the root problem of everything. I believe that too. My career has given me so much from a material standpoint. I feel that I absolutely need to give back in whatever capacity I can. It’s my moral obligation.”

On whether, at 41 and single, he believes in marriage:
“That time will come when that time comes. The truth is, you can’t predict marriage. You can’t plan it. It’s just going to happen when it happens.”

On whether fame is worth the price, and if he’s ever thought of quitting acting:
“Fame for fame’s sake? No. But if I wanted to quit acting, I could have done it a long time ago. I love making movies. I feel lucky and fortunate to do it, and it is absolutely worth sacrificing a lot of my private life. I don’t think anyone [famous] ever really gets used to it. It’s always surreal. At the end of the day, there are people with much harder jobs who sacrifice a lot more of their own lives to do them, people in the armed forces. I don’t want to hear myself complain about the hardships of being famous—because I do have the freedom to stop, if I wanted to.”
For much more from Leo DiCaprio, including which of his films is his favorite and what makes him happy go to: http://bit.ly/1kMz19a