Leonardo DiCaprio is an Academy Award winning American actor and humanitarian. Known for often playing conflicted, tortured by their own demons characters, he reached prominence by playing roles in films like
Romeo and Juliet (1996),
Titanic (1997),
The Aviator (2004),
The Departed (2006),
Shutter Island (2010) and
Inception (2010),
The Revenant (2015) and
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019). He is one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood.
Early LifeBorn on 11th September 1974 in Los Angeles, California, United States, Leonardo Wilhelm Dicaprio also known as Leo is the only child of George Dicaprio, a former comic book artist and Irmelin Dicaprio, an actress and producer. His father is of Italian German descent, whereas his mother is of German and Russian ancestry. The couple drifted apart soon after DiCaprio`s birth and Leo and his mother started living separately when he was one year old. For his primary education, he briefly attended the UCLA Lab School formerly known as Seeds Elementary School and John Marshall High School in Los Angeles. He then went to Los Angeles Centre for Enriched Studies for his higher education but dropped out soon to start his career as an actor.
Personal LifeDiCaprio has always had his luck with ladies. Since the beginning of his career he was a charmer among the models and has had many rumored relationships. He was often seen with models Bridget Hall and Naomi Campbell. The actress model Kristen Zang was also associated with Leo. Helena Christensen and Bijou Phillips were among few models to have been in a rumored relationship with the actor.
It is also rumored that before becoming Mrs. Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Leo settled into a five year romance from 2000 to 2005. Leo and Bar Rafaeli were often spotted together in the late 2000, but they split soon after. The rumors are that recently DiCaprio and Toni Garrn have been seeing one another.
Movie CareerLeonardo DiCaprio started his career by appearing in small part roles in television series like Romper Room and Parenthood before his debut in the Scifi horror film
Critters 3(1991). Though the film was of low budget, it did help him show his abilities as an actor and got him a part in the hit sitcom Growing Pains. The ABC sitcom ran for a year after DiCaprio was cast as Luke Brower, and gave him the much needed recognition as an actor.
He then started auditioning for major roles in films and eventually landed one in Lasse Hallstrom`s What`s Eating Gilbert Grape?. The film released in 1993 and DiCaprio was seen playing Arnie Grape, the mentally retarded sibling of the film`s protagonist Gilbert Grape, played by Johnny Depp. It earned DiCaprio his first Academy Award nomination. In 1995, he appeared in two films, Sam Raimi directed The Quick and the Dead and Agnieszka Holland`s
Total Eclipse. Both the films fared averagely at the Box Office and with the critics.
The year 1996 marked his transition from an actor to a renowned star with Baz Luhrmann`s Romeo and Juliet. Loosely based on the Shakespearean play of the same name, DiCaprio played the protagonist Romeo, and brought the character to life with his phenomenal talent. He was well appreciated among the critics and received numerous awards for this character. The same year he was seen in the American drama film Marvin`s Room, with co stars Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton among others, the film received averagely at the box office.
The following year he was cast in the Academy Award winning romantic tragedy film Titanic. The film saw the actor playing Jack Dawson who falls in love with Rose DeWitt Bukate, played by
Kate Winslet. The film broke all box office records of the time and grossed revenue of over 2000 million USD. DiCaprio was loved by the audience and became a teenage heart throb post the release of the film.
Following this, he was seen in films like
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) and The Beach (2000). The former was an action drama film written, directed and produced by Randall Wallace and the latter was an adventure drama movie directed by Danny Boyle. Both the films received commercial success but were noted as a critical failure.
The year 2002 gave DiCaprio his much awaited prominence as an actor when he starred in Steven Spielberg`s
Catch Me If You Can and
Martin Scorsese`s Gangs of New York. Both the films were a demarcation of the variety of roles that DiCaprio could excel in. Working with these critically acclaimed directors, DiCaprio received exceptional reviews for his characters in the films and created a new benchmark in Hollywood.
He then starred in another Martin Scorsese film, which was an award winning biographical drama The Aviator. The film released in 2004 and DiCaprio was seen sharing the screen with co star Cate Blanchett, who won the Academy Award for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role for this film. The film received appreciation by the critics and gave DiCaprio the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.
In the 2006 film Blood Diamond, DiCaprio was seen playing the protagonist Danny Archer. Set during the Sierra Leone Civil War, the film received good reviews by the critics and was an average turner at the box office. His next release the same year was the film Martin Scorsese film The Departed. The American Crime Drama starring actors like Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, and Mark Wahlberg among others received a huge gainer at the box office.
Subsequently, he starred in films like
Body of Lies in the year 2008 and
Revolutionary Road in the year 2009. While Body of Lies did not do well with the critics and commercially, the romantic drama film, Revolutionary Road was a great comeback for DiCaprio. After a span of 11 years DiCaprio was seen sharing the screen with Kate Winslet and the magic prevailed when the film achieved critical appreciation and commercial success.
In 2010, he appeared in
Christopher Nolan`s sci fi thriller Inception. The film had an ensemble cast with actors such as Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, and Michael Caine. The film opened to unanimous appreciation by the critics and was a box office success with revenue of over 800 million USD. The same year, he also played the protagonist in Martin Scorsese` directed Shutter Island. The film, a psychological thriller based on Dennis Lehane`s novel of the same name, received an average response by the critics and received a rating of 6.6/10 on Rotten Tomatoes.
His next releases were
Django Unchained (2012), directed by
Quentin Tarantino and
The Great Gatsby (2013). The latter was a romantic drama film based on F. Scott Fitzgerald`s 1925 novel of the same. It also starred the Bollywood superstar
Amitabh Bachchan. The Wolf of Wall Street, released in the year 2013, was a biographical black comedy crime film directed by Martin Scorsese. The film garnered critical appreciation and DiCaprio won many accolades like Golden Globe Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and BFCA Critics` Choice Award for Best Actor for the portrayal of his character in the film.
In 2015, DiCaprio starred in the epic American drama film The Revenant. Directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, the movie received unprecedented critical and commercial success, with DiCaprio winning his first Academy Award for Best Actor. He was also felicitated with the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor Motion Picture Drama, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Critics` Choice Movie Award for Best Actor for the same. His 2019 release includes
Richard Jewell, directed by Clint Eastwood.