'Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio' (born
November 111974[1]) is a three-time
Academy Award-nominated and
Golden Globe Award-winning American
actor well known for his roles in
blockbuster movies such as ''
William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet'' (1996), ''
Titanic'' (1997), ''
The Beach'' (2000), ''
Catch Me If You Can'' (2002), ''
Gangs of New York'' (2002), ''
The Aviator'' (2004), ''
The Departed'' (2006), and ''
Blood Diamond'' (2006), and was, as a young man, famed for his global celebrity influence dubbed as "Leomania" in the late 1990s following his role as heartthrob protagonist
Jack Dawson in ''Titanic''. More recently, he has worked regularly with
director Martin Scorsese which has led some to compare their partnership to that of Scorsese and actor
Robert De Niro.
Biography
Childhood
The name Leonardo originated from the programme teenage mutant ninja turtles.Leonardo was his favourite character in this programme and he often dreamed of being a turtle when he grew up. This was his favourite show as a child. Whilst watching this he enjoyed the occasional Capri Sun this is the basis that he changed his second name to Di Caprio. Thus his name Leonardo Di Caprio.
DiCaprio was born in
Los Angeles, California, the son of
George DiCaprio, an underground comix artist and distributor of comic books, and Irmelin Indenbirken, a former
legal secretary.
DiCaprio's parents divorced when he was one year old. He lived mostly with his mother, although his father was also around. During his childhood, he attended Canterbury Elementary School. He was interested in
baseball cards,
comic books and frequently visited
museums, with his father.
1 He also spent part of his childhood in Germany, where his maternal grandparents, Wilhelm and Helene, still lived, and still speaks German fluently. DiCaprio and his mother lived in several poor neighborhoods, such as
Echo Park.
During his teen years, he lived at 1874 Hillhurst Avenue,
Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, California. It was later converted into a local public library. And his mother worked several jobs to support them.
1 He attended
John Marshall High School which is a few blocks away, before attending the
Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies.
DiCaprio was inspired to become an actor after Adam Starr (a stepson of his father's from his father's re-marriage), began appearing in commercials.
1 DiCaprio began looking for an agent at the age of twelve, but was initially turned down several times; one agent suggested that he
anglicize his name to "Lenny Williams", which DiCaprio rejected.
1
Early career
DiCaprio's acting career began in 1989 when he was cast in the role of Garry Buckman on the TV version of the film ''
Parenthood'', where he met
Tobey Maguire, with whom he remains close friends. In that same year, DiCaprio appeared on the
soap opera ''
Santa Barbara'' in the role of Mason Capwell (in flashbacks as a teenager). From 1991 to 1992 he had the role of Luke Brower, a homeless boy, on ''
Growing Pains''.
However, DiCaprio is most famous for his roles in motion pictures. His debut role was as Josh in ''
Critters 3'' (1991), a film with a limited theatrical release, which was released on video soon after.
Two years later, his breakthrough came with the role of Toby in ''
This Boy's Life'' (1993) co-starring with
Robert De Niro and
Ellen Barkin, which led the
New York Film Critics and the National Society of
Film Critics to name him
runner-up for
Best Supporting Actor. In the same year he also portrayed a
mentally handicapped boy in ''
What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' (1993). The role earned him an
Academy Award nomination at the age of 19.
In 1995, he starred in ''
Total Eclipse'', a fictionalized account of the passionate and violent
homosexual relationship between the two 19th century
French poets,
Paul Verlaine (
David Thewlis) and
Arthur Rimbaud (Leonardo DiCaprio).
River Phoenix was originally cast as the lead in the film, but after his 1993 death, DiCaprio was cast.
The black-and-white movie ''
Don's Plum'', a low-budget drama featuring the actor and some of his friends (including
Tobey Maguire) was filmed between 1995 and 1996. Its release was later blocked in the
United States and
Canada by DiCaprio and Maguire, who argued they never intended to make it a theatrical feature. Nevertheless, it later premiered on
February 9,
2001 in
Berlin.
In 1995 he starred as
Jim Carroll, a heroin addict in ''
The Basketball Diaries''. In 1996, DiCaprio also played the male lead in ''
Romeo + Juliet'', a slick and updated modern-day version of
William Shakespeare's play, directed by Australian director
Baz Luhrmann. DiCaprio was reportedly so dedicated to the project, he flew coach class, for free to
Australia a year before production started to workshop the film. Following ''Romeo + Juliet'', in 1996 DiCaprio starred in ''
Marvin's Room'' along side
Meryl Streep and
Diane Keaton.
Superstardom and "Leo-Mania"
DiCaprio in 2000
The move from "star" to "superstar" came when DiCaprio played
Jack Dawson in the 1997 blockbuster ''
Titanic'', the highest grossing movie ever (in nominal terms—adjusted for inflation it is the sixth highest in the United States, while remaining the highest grossing movie worldwide). It also received eleven
Academy Awards. Over the course of the next few years he would become a household name worldwide, synonymous with labels such as "teenage heart-throb" and
sex symbol. ''
People'' placed him in their annual "Most Beautiful People" issue on numerous occasions. At the peak of his celebrity in 1998, DiCaprio fronted scores of magazine covers ranging from ''
Vanity Fair'' to ''
Rolling Stone'',
[2] and was once the most searched for personality in the early years of the
Internet. DiCaprio agreed to play the
spoof role of his real life "teen idol" persona during this period, in
Woody Allen's satirical parody, ''
Celebrity''.
What came apropos with fame were tales in the
tabloids of excesses and indulgence. In the
Japanese media, he was referred to as 'Leo-sama' (レオ様), with the "sama" suffix given to show the utmost respect. ''
Time'' summed up the fame superhighway and its trappings in an interview with the actor in 2000, reporting:
Nonetheless, the headlines and controversy failed to let up, peaking when he starred in a project by
Danny Boyle based on
Alex Garland's
backpacker cult classic ''
The Beach'' that year. Because of clashes with the Thai authorities over the use of the island of
Ko Phi Phi in 1999, the film garnered more bad press than expected. It was reported that permission granted to the film company to physically alter the environment inside Phi Phi Islands National Park was illegal. In the end, the film also did not score as well as expected at the
box office, losing mainstream commercial appeal due to its content.
Critically acclaimed acting
In 2002, DiCaprio began a shift away from his stereotypical image and moved to engage himself with critically acclaimed directors by starring in two epic movies: ''
Gangs of New York'' (directed by Martin Scorsese), and ''
Catch Me If You Can'' (directed by Steven Spielberg). Both films were very well received by critics. Forging a collaboration with Scorsese, the two paired again for a biopic of American businessman Howard Hughes in ''
The Aviator'', a film that scored DiCaprio a second Academy Award nomination, for Best Actor.
DiCaprio continued his run with Scorsese (some claim him to be Scorsese's "new De Niro") in the 2006 film ''
The Departed'' as a smart undercover cop in Boston. His next film was ''
Blood Diamond'', released on
December 8,
2006. While the film itself received mixed reviews, DiCaprio was praised for the authenticity of his
Zimbabwean Afrikaner accent, known as a difficult accent of English to emulate. He is also reported to have purchased the rights to ''
Blink'',
Malcolm Gladwell's book on the power and validity of first impressions, in order to produce a film based on it.
Cruise-Wagner Productions,
Tom Cruise's
film production company, is said to be developing a screenplay based on
Erik Larson's
''New York Times'' bestseller ''
The Devil in the White City'', about
H. H. Holmes, a
serial killer at the 1893
Chicago World's Fair. Meanwhile, DiCaprio's
production company,
Appian Way Productions, is also developing a film about Holmes and the World's Fair, in which DiCaprio will star.
In 2006, the Golden Globes and
Broadcast Film Critics Association nominated DiCaprio twice in the same category: Best Actor for ''Blood Diamond'' and ''The Departed'', which is an extremely rare honor for actors. Also in the same year, he received two nominations for the
Screen Actors Guild Awards, a
lead actor nomination for ''Blood Diamond'' and a
supporting actor nomination for ''
The Departed''. He earned an Oscar nomination for lead actor in ''Blood Diamond'' and a BAFTA nod for lead actor for ''The Departed''.
After working in two
Warner Brothers films, DiCaprio will again star in a WB production for a film about the collapse of
Enron, based on the book ''
Conspiracy of Fools''. The film's script is currently under negotiations.
[3]
He is also reportedly attached to a number of other upcoming projects, including ''
The Chancellor Manuscript'',
Stephen Gaghan's ''
Blink'', a biopic of LSD-spokesperson Professor
Timothy Leary, and
Martin Scorsese's ''
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt'', all of which are in the developmental stages.
On
March 22 2007, DiCaprio signed on to re-team with his ''Titanic'' co-star Kate Winslet on an adaptation of
Richard Yates's critically-lauded 1961 novel ''
Revolutionary Road''.
The film of the same name is being directed by Winslet's husband,
Sam Mendes and was adapted for the screen by
Justin Haythe. They are currently shooting in
New York City.
[4]
In addition to an already impressive career, DiCaprio is currently ranked the 5th Best Working Actor Today by The Screen Directory.
[5]. In May 2007, DiCaprio was listed among
Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World.
Personal life
DiCaprio is best friends with actor
Tobey Maguire, whom he beat to get roles in ''Growing Pains'' and ''This Boy's Life''. He is also good friends with
Kate Winslet,
Mark Wahlberg,
Lukas Haas,
Ethan Suplee,
Kevin Connolly, and
Ben Affleck, whom he worked with during the John Kerry presidential campaign.
DiCaprio sued ''
Playgirl'' magazine to stop the
New York-based monthly magazine from publishing unauthorized
nude photos of him in its July 1998 issue. Some reports claim the photos were secretly taken while the actor was lounging in the nude, while others say they came from stills of his nude scenes in, or from outtakes of, the movie ''
Total Eclipse''. The case was settled on
June 29,
1998 for an undisclosed amount.
A registered
Democrat in California, DiCaprio has been active in promoting liberal causes, and in 2004 supported Senator
John Kerry's presidential campaign.
[6]
A committed
environmentalist, DiCaprio has received praise from environmental groups for opting to fly on commercial flights instead of chartering private jets, which use more fuel. He has also mentioned that he drives a
hybrid car and that his house has
solar panels.
[7] His actions have inspired other celebrities, such as
Orlando Bloom and
Penelope Cruz. In an article in ''
Ukula'' about his new film ''
11th Hour'' (which he co-wrote, co-produced and narrated), DiCaprio cites
global warming as "the number one environmental challenge."
[8]. DiCaprio and former vice-president
Al Gore announced at the 2007 Oscar ceremony that the Oscars had incorporated environmentally intelligent practices throughout the planning and production processes, thus affirming their commitment to the environment. On
July 7,
2007, DiCaprio presented at the
American leg of
Live Earth.
In 1998, he and his mother donated $35,000 for a state-of-the-art "Leonardo DiCaprio Computer Center" at the Los Feliz branch of the
Los Angeles Public Library (1874 Hillhurst Avenue) which happens to be the site of his childhood home. It was rebuilt after the 1994
Northridge earthquake, and opened in early 1999. There are commemorative placards and curious fans are welcomed at the library.
[9][10]
During the filming of ''Blood Diamond'' , DiCaprio worked with 24 orphaned children from the
SOS Children's Village in Maputo,
Mozambique and was said to be extremely touched by his interactions with the children.
[11]
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Academy Award
★ Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, ''
What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' (1993)
★ Nominated: Best Actor, ''
The Aviator'' (2004)
★ Nominated: Best Actor, ''
Blood Diamond'' (2006)
BAFTA Award
★ Nominated: Best Actor, ''
The Aviator'' (2005)
★ Nominated: Best Actor, ''
The Departed'' (2007)
Golden Globe Award
★ Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, ''
What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' (1994)
★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''
Titanic'' (1998)
★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''
Catch Me If You Can'' (2003)
★ 'Won: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''
The Aviator'' (2005)'
★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''
The Departed'' (2007)
★ Nominated: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, ''
Blood Diamond'' (2007)
References
1. Leonardo DiCaprio: Modern-Day Romeo, , Grace, Catalano, Dell Publishing Group, , ISBN0-440-22701-1
2. 2000 Rolling Stone Covers
3. [1]
4. [2]
5. [3]
6. http://fundrace.org/neighbors.php?search=1&type=name&lname=DiCaprio&fname=Leonardo
7. Leonardo DiCaprio on ''The 11th Hour ''
8. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and 11th Hour at Ukula
9. Leonardo DiCaprio bio, trivia, pictures from About Gay Movies
10. Leonardo Gives It Up
11. Leonardos memorable experience
External links
★
Leonardo DiCaprio Official Website
★
Leonardo DiCaprio Official Eco-site
★
Leonardo DiCaprio Official MySpace
★
Official DiCaprio Environmental Eleventh Hour film site
★
★
★
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