Ahh Leonardo! Men want to be him. Women want to be with him. Even a few plants and animals probably fancy a slice. Here we take a look at some of the key stages in this Hollywood great’s career to date…
The career of Leonardo DiCaprio has now, terrifyingly enough, spanned well over two decades. The journey has seen the Californian star feature in some of the best films of his time, whilst moving through some very distinct career phases along the way.
Leonardo the Boy Wonder
When the 19-year-old Leonardo well and truly held his own alongside Johnny Depp and Juliette Lewis in the fantastically melancholy What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), his fate as a future leading actor of his generation was essentially sealed. If you’ll excuse the pun, success on a titanic scale was just around the corner.
Leonardo the Hollywood heart-throb
Fair enough, that pun was completely inexcusable, but nonetheless we must progress through Leonardo’s budding career undaunted…
It was the 1996 release of Baz Luhrman’s superbly camp adaptation of Shakespearian tragedy Romeo and Juliet which really cemented DiCaprio’s place amongst Hollywood’s A-listers. In a performance that was both well-crafted beyond the young actor’s years and bursting with a touching naivety, DiCaprio stole the show. And that’s not to say there wasn’t much else on offer here, with a fine ‘Mab’ speech from Mercutio and the brilliant combination of Radiohead and Shakespeare also offering memorable highlights. This was Vegas razzle dazzle transposed onto Venice Beach – all that was missing was the roulette wheels – perhaps it was too long ago for the cast to play on digital versions like the ones at Coral?
Superstardom beckoned, and with the release of James Cameron’s epic story of love, loss and errant icebergs, Titanic, DiCaprio became a household name.
Leonardo the Great
Leonardo DiCaprio has proven his tremendous screen acting abilities throughout the vast majority of the films in which he has appeared, from Gangs of New York to Catch Me if You Can, but it’s possible that his earlier heart-throb status may have obscured his clear mastery in the eyes of certain viewers.
As the years have passed by, the actor’s talent has continued to come to the fore as youth has faded, and a string of powerful performances in titles such as Blood Diamond (2006), The Departed (2006), Revolutionary Road (2008) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) have earned DiCaprio a reputation as one of the best in the business; a serious actor with the power to shift vast numbers of tickets to boot.
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