Leonardo Dicaprio
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
DiCaprio got his first name by kicking in the womb while his parents viewed a da Vinci painting in Italy.---from "The Young Leonardo" by Erin Culley, US, January 1994.
"He's like a man-child," explains (director Renny) Harlin, who is executive producing "The Foot Shooting Party", a short featuring DiCaprio as a '70s rocker planning to put a bullet in his foot to avoid the draft. "He is both awkward and adult. He's also man-woman. He appeals to both men and women."---from "Childhood's Sweetheart" by John Clark, PREMIERE, January 1994.
Biography
Ever since he emerged with a stunning performance as an abused stepson in "This Boy's Life" (1993), actor Leonardo DiCaprio was expected to achieve greatness by critics and the public alike. DiCaprio met these expectations, thanks to an Oscar-worthy performance as a mentally challenged teenager in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" (1993) and as a troubled teen in "Marvin's Room" (1996). While he became a bona fide star, nothing prepared him for the life-changing celebrity he achieved with the James Cameron's smash "Titanic" (1997). With this one film, DiCaprio went from a somewhat popular actor to an overnight teen idol and international media sensation, relentlessly hounded by the paparazzi. While he never wanted to reach such heights - he always thought of himself as an indie actor - DiCaprio had no choice but to ride the teen idol wave. Eventually, the furor died down and DiCaprio managed to complete the seemingly impossible transition from child actor to adult star, thanks in large part to his collaboration with director Martin Scorsese. Starting with the hyper-violent "Gangs of New York" (2002), DiCaprio and Scorsese made a series of films that seemed to revitalize each artist both creatively and in the market, culminating in the Oscar-winning crime epic, "The Departed" (2006). His transformation was complete with his star turns in Christopher Nolan's "Inception" (2010), Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" (2013), and Alejandro González Iñárritu's "The Revenant" (2015), for which he finally won an Oscar. Because of his deep well of talent and determination, DiCaprio was able to accomplish the rare feat of fulfilling his early youthful promise.
Born Nov. 11, 1974 in Los Angeles, DiCaprio was initially raised by his mother, Irmelin, a legal secretary who was born in Germany, and George, a former comic artist and distributor who divorced his wife when his son was only a year old. Though he lived mostly with his mother, DiCaprio did see his father over the years. In fact, after his father remarried, it was his stepbrother - himself briefly a child actor - who influenced the young DiCaprio to get into the game. He made his first strides in the business by landing an audition for a commercial when he was six years old, then began making the agent rounds, one of whom wanted him to change his name to Lenny Williams. Prescient for his age, DiCaprio rejected the idea out of hand and stuck with his original name. Meanwhile, he made one of his earliest onscreen appearances in the educational film, "How to Deal with a Parent Who Takes Drugs" (1988). Two years later, he had his first real break when he was cast in "Parenthood" (NBC, 1989-1991), a short-lived sitcom based on the 1989 hit film. After the show was cancelled, DiCaprio made an inauspicious film debut in the goofy horror flick "Critters 3" (1991).
In the early 1990s, DiCaprio landed a recurring role on the once popular sitcom "Growing Pains" (ABC, 1985-1992), playing a homeless boy taken in by the motley Seaver clan. DiCaprio was brought in to shake up a show that had been sliding in the ratings, but the move proved futile and it was cancelled after his first and only season. After a small role in the campy erotic thriller "Poison Ivy" (1992), DiCaprio finally announced his arrival with a sterling performance as a rambunctious youth who is verbally, emotionally and physically abused by his new stepfather (Robert De Niro) in "This Boy's Life" (1993), based on Tobias Wolff's award-winning autobiographical novel. While the film fizzled at the box office, DiCaprio managed to upstage De Niro and onscreen mother Ellen Barkin, walking away with some of the strongest notices of a career that had only just begun. DiCaprio was next cast alongside Johnny Depp in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" (1993), an evocative coming-of-age novel that depicted him as the mentally challenged kid brother of a young man unable to leave his small Iowa hometown because of family obligations. The 19-year-old actor again earned overwhelmingly positive reviews, as well as an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor.
He next tried his hand at a genre film with a supporting role opposite Sharon Stone in Sam Raimi's exceedingly stylish meta-Western, "The Quick and the Dead" (1995). DiCaprio brought verve and cynicism to his portrayal of the Kid, a cocksure gunslinger who may be the son of a corrupt mayor (Gene Hackman) ruling a frontier town with an iron fist. He veered back to the independent world to star in the profoundly disappointing adaptation of "The Basketball Diaries" (1995) and continued courting the art house crowd with Agnieszka Holland's problematic film version of Christopher Hampton's play, "Total Eclipse" (1995), a commercial flop. He bounced back with his next project, the eagerly awaited "William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet" (1996). Paired with rising star Claire Danes, DiCaprio strove to create a "more hardcore" Romeo for the bizarrely stylized and anachronistic take on the classic helmed by Australian director Baz Luhrmann. Later that year, he was featured as Meryl Streep's troubled teenaged son in the affecting drama "Marvin's Room" (1996).
By the time the mid-to-late 1990s rolled around, DiCaprio was a star. But nothing prepared him for the amount of celebrity he achieved with his next film, "Titanic" (1997), James Cameron's movie to end all movies about the doomed voyage aboard history's most notorious cruise ship. DiCaprio played Jack Dawson, a plucky, impoverished American artist who wins a third-class ticket on the luxury liner and enters into a star-crossed love affair with a young Philadelphia socialite (Kate Winslet) fated to marry the caddish heir to a steel fortune (Billy Zane). With stunning visual effects and a believable love story anchored by fine performances, "Titanic" became a landmark cinematic achievement, while earning the top spot as the all-time highest grossing film in history at the time. Although some bemoaned the fact the he did not receive an Oscar nomination, DiCaprio reigned supreme as the biggest male box office attraction; indeed, much of the repeat business that propelled "Titanic" to unprecedented heights was credited to a legion of young female fans who were enthralled with the young actor. After the one-two punch of "Romeo" and "Titanic," his celebrity status was assured and despite cutting back on the amount of roles he accepted, he became an object of media fascination for the next several years.
DiCaprio continued in period fare with the dual role of French King Louis XIV and his doppelganger in "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1998). Though he delivered another fine performance, he failed to ignite "Titanic"-sized box office returns. Two years later, he joined director Danny Boyle for "The Beach" (2000), an uneven star vehicle in which his performance was better than the story deserved. Things looked up when the actor was cast in Martin Scorsese's 19th century crime saga, "Gangs of New York" (2002). DiCaprio played Irish-American immigrant Amsterdam Vallon, who is released from prison and becomes intent on taking on a rival gang led by Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis). He next found himself working with Steven Spielberg in "Catch Me If You Can" (2002), playing real-life con artist Frank W. Abagnale, who successfully pulled off enough scams in various identities that he became the youngest man on the FBI's most wanted list. Perfectly cast, DiCaprio delivered his most charming and mature performance to date.
DiCaprio reunited with Scorsese on "The Aviator" (2004), a project the actor initially planned to do with director Michael Mann, which focused on the prime years of the famed billionaire Howard Hughes. Although many felt DiCaprio's boyish looks were not ideally suited for the role, he delivered one of his strongest performances yet, convincingly portraying Hughes' multifaceted qualities: as a young mogul-in-the-making taking Hollywood by storm; as one of Tinseltown's most notorious ladies' men; as a pioneer of aviation and an enterprising maverick who took on the U.S. government; and most compellingly, as man whose potential is crippled by obsessive-compulsive disorder. For his efforts, DiCaprio was rewarded with a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Drama. His bravura performance also earned him another Academy Award nomination, while his second collaboration with Scorsese drew comparisons to the director's previous relationship with Robert De Niro.
DiCaprio reunited with Scorsese alongside an all-star cast that included Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin and Jack Nicholson for "The Departed" (2006), in which he played a Boston cop assigned to work undercover inside a notorious Irish-American gang. As he rises up the ranks to a senior level and earns the trust of the gang's ruthless leader (Nicholson), a member of the gang (Damon) infiltrates the police force and feeds the gang high-level intelligence. Also that year, DiCaprio starred in "Blood Diamond" (2006), a sweeping tale about a South African diamond smuggler (DiCaprio) and a poor fisherman (Djimon Hounsou) who join forces in order to find a rare pink diamond that can transform both their lives. DiCaprio earned Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actor for both "The Departed" and "Blood Diamond," while he received a Best Actor nod at the Academy Awards for only the latter. A committed environmental activist who lived up to his public opinions by driving a hybrid vehicle and installing solar panels on his house, it was no surprise that DiCaprio narrated "11th Hour" (2006), a documentary that examined global warming and possible solutions to restore the planet's decaying ecosystems.
Apart from his environmental efforts and film roles, DiCaprio consistently remained in the news - predominately of the tabloid variety - for one other reason: his reputation as bit of a Lothario, who, along with best friend Tobey Maguire, could have his pick of the most beautiful women in the world. He was noted for his on-again, off-again romance with model Kristen Zang in 1996-97 and British model Emma Miller. He was also involved with Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen for several years starting in 2001, which was well chronicled in the media, only to break it off in 2002. They rekindled in 2003, but ultimately the couple split for good in 2005. Continuing the supermodel trend, he began dating Israeli beauty, Bar Refaeli, perhaps his most recognized romance, which started in early 2006. The pair made a public showing of meeting Israeli president Shimon Peres in 2007, split amicably in 2009, got back together in 2010 and permanently called it quits in 2011. In May of that year, DiCaprio moved over to dating actresses with Blake Lively, a whirlwind romance that ended after only five months in October 2011.
Back in the feature world, he played a CIA operative who helps infiltrate a major terrorist network in Jordan, only to come to distrust a veteran agent (Russell Crowe) inside the operation in "Body of Lies" (2008). He then enjoyed a long-awaited reunion with "Titanic" co-star Kate Winslet for "Revolutionary Road" (2008), which depicted them as a young married couple in the 1950s who move to France, only to find their relationship deteriorate. The role earned him another Golden Globe nod for Best Actor. Meanwhile, DiCaprio worked with Scorsese again on "Shutter Island" (2010), in which he played a U.S. Marshal who investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, only to start questioning his own sanity. He was in top form for his next blockbuster, "Inception" (2010), a sci-fi heist thriller from Christopher Nolan in which he played Dom Cobb, an extractor who enters people's minds via shared dreaming in order to steal valuable secrets locked deep inside the victim's psyche. Praised for its intelligence and originality, "Inception" was a huge international hit and maintained DiCaprio's status as one of Hollywood's top box office earners.
DiCaprio next signed on to star in "J. Edgar" (2011), director Clint Eastwood's period biopic about notorious FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Critics praised the actor's performance, which earned him an Academy Award nomination, though those same critics were divided over the quality of the film itself, with several citing Eastwood's lack of cohesion and focus. Meanwhile, after years of serious dramatic performances, DiCaprio was finally able to cut loose with a darkly comic turn in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" (2012), where he played Calvin J. Candie, a brutal, but charming plantation owner who forces male slaves to fight for sport and female slaves into prostitution. The film starred Jamie Foxx as the titular Django, a slave freed by a German bounty hunter after striking a deal to help him hunt down two murderous brothers. While Tarantino's film was widely praised, DiCaprio was singled out for his eccentric performance, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor and serious buzz for an Academy Award. DiCaprio's next two films were period pieces that explored overwhelming financial success. As the title character in Baz Luhrman's lavish adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" (2013), DiCaprio personified the rise and fall of America in the Jazz Age, while in Martin Scorcese's satirical comedy "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013), DiCaprio played an overambitious, coke-fueled financial trader at the height of the 1990s stock boom. DiCaprio next appeared in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's "The Revenant" (2015). For this unforgiving tale of a frontiersman left for dead by his partners, DiCaprio had to undergo repeated physical tortures during filming, including a scene where he had to eat the uncooked liver of a freshly slaughtered bison. The film broke DiCaprio's losing record at the Academy Awards, garnering him a Best Actor award.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1981
Went on first commercial audition at age six
1988
Appeared in the educational film "How to Deal With a Parent Who Takes Drugs"
1988
Signed by an agent at the age of 14
1990
Cast in the short-lived NBC series based on the movie "Parenthood"
1990
Made TV acting debut on the syndicated Saturday morning revival "The New Lassie"
1990
Played a teenaged alcoholic on the NBC daytime soap "Santa Barbara"
1991
Debut film role in the straight to video "Critters 3"
1991
Cast in a recurring role as Luke, a homeless boy taken in by the Seavers, on the ABC sitcom "Growing Pains"
1993
Breakthrough playing the lead role of Toby Wolff in "This Boy's Life," co-starring Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin
1993
Portrayed the mentally handicapped brother to Johnny Depp in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape"; earned Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Supporting Actor
1995
Played Gene Hackman's alleged son in "The Quick and the Dead"
1995
Portrayed writer Jim Caroll in "The Basketball Diaries," which was based on Caroll's book of the same name
1996
Played Meryl Streep's emotionally disturbed son in "Marvin's Room"
1996
Cast as the male lead, with Claire Danes as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann's modern-day production of "William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet"
1997
Co-starred with Kate Winslet in James Cameron's Oscar-winning blockbuster "Titanic"; received a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination
1998
Played the dual roles of King Louis XIV and his secret twin brother Philippe in "The Man in the Iron Mask"
2000
Headlined Danny Boyle's feature adaptation of Alex Garland's backpacker cult classic "The Beach"
2002
Portrayed Frank Abagnale Jr., the youngest man ever to make the FBI's ten most wanted list, in Steven Spielberg's "Catch Me If You Can"; earned a Best Actor Golden Globe nomination
2002
First collaboration with director Martin Scorsese, the period drama "Gangs of New York"
2004
Portrayed legendary mogul Howard Hughes in the "Aviator"; second collaboration with Scorsese; also served as executive producer; earned Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Picture
2006
Cast in Edward Zwick's "Blood Diamond" as a South African mercenary; received second of two Golden Globe nominations that year for Best Actor; also received SAG and Oscar nominations for Best Actor
2006
Played an undercover cop posing as a gangster in Martin Scorsese's Mob drama, "The Departed"; received first of two Golden Globe nominations that year for Best Actor; earned a SAG nomination for Supporting Actor
2007
Narrated (also co-wrote and co-produced) the environmental documentary "The 11th Hour"
2008
Re-teamed with Kate Winslet for "Revolutionary Road," an adaptation of Richard Yates' critically-lauded 1961 novel; directed by Winslet's husband Sam Mendes; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor
2008
Played a CIA operative in Ridley Scott's screen adaptation of "Body of Lies"
2010
Fourth collaboration with Martin Scorsese, the psychological thriller "Shutter Island"
2010
Starred in the sci-fi thriller "Inception," directed by Christopher Nolan
2011
Portrayed FBI founder J. Edgar Hoover in Clint Eastwood directed biopic "J. Edgar"
2011
Executive produced "The Ides of March," which starred George Clooney who also directed, co-wrote and produced
2012
Offered villainous turn as slave owner Calvin Candie opposite Jamie Foxx in "Django Unchained," a Western drama set in Mississippi; film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino
2013
Cast as the titular Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" adaptation
2013
Played Wall St. trader Jordan Belfort in Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street"
2015
Played real-life survivalist Hugh Glass in Alejandro Iñárritu's "The Revenant"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
DiCaprio got his first name by kicking in the womb while his parents viewed a da Vinci painting in Italy.---from "The Young Leonardo" by Erin Culley, US, January 1994.
"He's like a man-child," explains (director Renny) Harlin, who is executive producing "The Foot Shooting Party", a short featuring DiCaprio as a '70s rocker planning to put a bullet in his foot to avoid the draft. "He is both awkward and adult. He's also man-woman. He appeals to both men and women."---from "Childhood's Sweetheart" by John Clark, PREMIERE, January 1994.
"Leonardo's the real thing. A fabulous little genius."---Meryl Streep on her "Marvin's Room" co-star quoted in USA TODAY, February 4, 1997.
"I am convinced he is, as you say in America, star material," says ['What's Eating Gilbert Grape'] director Lasse Hallstrom. Michael Caton-Jones, who directed DiCaprio in his film debut, 'This Boy's Life', opposite De Niro and Ellen Barkin, says: "He's going to be what we call in England the thinking woman's crumpet. He'll do intelligent material with depth, feel and range, but he'll also have a lot of sex appeal. I saw his performance in 'Gilbert Grape,' that's what separates movie stars from everyday actors, the ability to take a flying leap of madness."---From "The Young Leonardo" by Erin Culley, US, January 1994.
"My mistake is that I think I can actually be like a normal human being and have fun and go to normal places. I'm realizing that I have to lead a sheltered life where I watch out for everything I do."---DiCaprio on fame, quoted to Larry Worth in the NEW YORK POST, November 2, 1995.
In 1999, he launched the First Annual Leonardo DiCaprio International Online Short Film Festival (LeoFest.com).
"He's one of the best actors I ever met, and very generous with his partners. He's always keeping on trying things. He's not posh, he's an actor who likes what he's doing."---Virginie Ledoyen, co-star of "The Beach", to the London TIMES, January 8, 2000.
"The whole Titanic phenomenon came from a period of time when I did two movies in particular: Romeo + Juliet, which started it, and then Titanic, which really brought it to a new level. It may sound naive to say this, but I had no realization that those were going to turn me into a heartthrob, or make me reach that audience of teenage girls. That truly was not my intent going into it."---DiCaprio on becoming the biggest movie star in the world, almost overnight to The Miami Herald, December 19, 2002.
"It's a really obvious thing to say, but the more people know too much who you really are--and it's a fundamental thing--the more the mystery is taken away from the artist, and the harder it is for people to believe the person in a particular role."---DiCaprio quoted to Vanity Fair, December 2004.
"As soon as enough people give you enough compliments, and you're wielding more power than you've ever had in your life, it's not that you ... become an arrogant little prick, or become rude to people ... but you get a false sense of your own importance and what you've accomplished," says DiCaprio. "You actually think you've altered the course of history."---DiCaprio quoted to Vanity Fair, December 2004.
