Celebrity Mound

He took it upon himself to be manager/bodyguard/entourage member to his pal Leonardo DiCaprio last week at the Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge LA Live opening. A source relates that when paparazzi descended on DiCaprio, Connolly “protected him from the cameras, and when they left, Kevin was in front clearing the way and working with security to block pics of Leo from waiting paparazzi.”

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Leonardo DiCaprio had to spend three months in Morocco filming his CIA thriller, “Body of Lies.” But Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who plays his love interest, could face an even longer exile.

The gorgeous 25-year-old, one of Iran’s biggest stars, is the first Iranian-based actress to appear in a Hollywood film since the 1979 Islamic revolution. She wonders about returning to her homeland now that a court there is weighing whether she broke Islamic law by making the film without permission.

“I had a lot of problems because of this movie,” she told us at Sunday’s New York premiere, where she caught up with co-stars DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Oscar Isaac and director Ridley Scott. “[Iranian officials] took my passport. The intelligence service interrogated me several times. In the end, the judge said, ‘We have to see the movie and then decide what we’re going to do with you.’”

It’s hard to see what would bother them. Farahani plays a nurse who treats DiCaprio’s character, but is wary of his advances, insisting that he first meet her family. She won’t even shake his hand.

Though her passport has been returned, she doesn’t know whether the hard-line government will seize it again if she returns. “I’m on trial,” she said, turning down a waiter offering a glass of wine. The actress, who has been living in France with her husband, Amin Mahdavi, said, “I’m totally in love with Iran. I have family there. But now, if they want to see me, they have to leave.”

Last month, Saudi Arabia’s chief judge threatened to execute satellite broadcast providers who import “deviant” Western movies. It’s no wonder Farahani is reluctant to venture even to relatively liberal Dubai, where “Body of Lies” is to be screened at the country’s film festival.

“I’m going to stay here,” she said. “I lost one opportunity to do a screen test, for ‘The Prince of Persia.’ I’m not ready for that again.”

P.S.: DiCaprio will celebrate his own heritage on Oct. 18, when he’ll be honored by the National Italian-American Foundation in Washington, D.C.

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The “Titanic” star and the Israeli supervixen have been partying apart over the past few weeks.

Refaeli appears bereft, say spies, like she’s looking for a good time but not finding it.

Leo? The good times find him. The other night, at a Chelsea club, an exquisite brunette glommed onto him. (Isn’t that disgusting, guys?) But we’re assured they did not exchange phone numbers. At least in public.

In fact, Bar and Leo have ridden out other tempests since they met in December 2005 (shortly after his split with his last Amazon, Gisele Bundchen, after almost five years together). The couple were said to have hit their first bump in January 2007. But, by April, British tabs had them expecting a baby and talking marriage.

In October of the same year, more reliable sources confirmed that the pair were taking a breather. But they reunited shortly after Bar’s fling with surfer Kelly Slater and have stuck together through most of this year.

Even now, a reconciliation may be afoot. They’ve been spotted the last couple of nights at Marquee and 1Oak. Which means you might see her on his arm by the premiere of his “Body of Lies” next month and “Revolutionary Road” in December.

Says one friend: “With these two, you never know, and they probably don’t either.”

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Leonardo DiCaprio isn’t shy about letting people know he is back on with ex Bar Refaeli: They had a hot-and-heavy make-out session at new Las Vegas club, The Bank in the Bellagio Hotel, on New Year’s Eve.

DiCaprio and Refaeli arrived around 11:10 with actor Lukas Haas and 15 other pals. The group sat at a VIP table (stocked with $30,000 bottles of three liter Moet White Gold champagne!), overlooking the dance floor. Throughout the night, says an on-looker, the crew took countless pictures on their personal cameras. (At one point, DiCaprio even extended his arm and took a shot of him and Refaeli.)

At the strike of midnight, the duo “shared a long, passionate kiss,” the eye witness tells Usmagazine.com. They then downed Dom Pérignon champagne.

Kissing wasn’t their only activity — they danced a lot too.

When the DJ played Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” DiCaprio began jumping up and down, the witness said.

While dancing to the Beyoncé hit “Crazy In Love,” he and Refaeli made out some more. The pair also boogied to the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize,” Britney Spears’ “Piece of Me” and the Stevie Wonder classic “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours.”

At 2:20 a.m., they called it a night and left the club hand-in-hand.

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