Leonardo DiCaprio
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| Leonardo DiCaprio | |
 |
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| Birth name | Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio |
| Born | November 11, 1974 (age 32) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Notable roles | Romeo Montague in William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet Jack Dawson in Titanic Frank Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me If You Can Amsterdam Vallon in Gangs of New York Howard Hughes in The Aviator Billy Costigan in The Departed Danny Archer in Blood Diamond |
| Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
| Nominated for Best Actor: 2004 The Aviator 2006 Blood Diamond Nominated for Best Supporting Actor: 1993 What's Eating Gilbert Grape |
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| Golden Globe Awards | |
| Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama 2005 The Aviator |
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Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11, 1974[1]) is an 3-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), 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 memorable role as Jack Dawson. More recently, he has worked regularly with director Martin Scorsese which has lead some to compare their partnership to that of Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
DiCaprio was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, the son of George DiCaprio, a distributor of comic books, and Irmelin Indenbirken, a former legal secretary. DiCaprio's mother moved from Oer-Erkenschwick, Germany to the U.S. during her childhood, while his father is of half Italian and half German descent.[1] DiCaprio's parents met while attending college together and subsequently moved to Los Angeles.[1] His last name means "from Capri" in Italian; he was named after artist Leonardo da Vinci, as his pregnant mother was standing in front of a da Vinci painting at a museum in Italy when DiCaprio first kicked; his paternal grandfather's middle name was also "Leon".[1] DiCaprio's parents divorced when he was a year old, and he subsequently lived mostly with his mother, although his father was also around. During his childhood, DiCaprio was interested in baseball cards, comic books and frequently visited museums, often with his father.[1] He also spent part of his childhood in Germany, where his maternal grandparents still lived, and still speaks German fluently. DiCaprio and his mother lived in several poor neighborhoods (which DiCaprio has described as the "Ghettos of Hollywood"), and his mother worked several jobs to support them.[1]
DiCaprio was inspired to become a terrible actor after his stepbrother, 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]
DiCaprio attended Canterbury Elementary and John Marshall High School, before attending the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies.
[edit] Early career
His 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 his best friend Tobey Maguire. 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).
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.
[edit] Superstardom & 'Leo-Mania'
The move from 'star' to 'superstar' came when DiCaprio played Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997). 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 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. With a status that spawned fantasy crushes and hysteria worldwide, E! Online described him as the most gorgeous celebrity on the planet, while his co-star Kate Winslet said she agreed with others in deeming him the "most beautiful man on Earth."[citation needed] People Magazine 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.
Perhaps overrun or overhyped by fame from what became known as 'Leo-Mania' the world over - from the shores of Thailand all the way to Afghanistan (where the Taliban government there banned 'DiCaprio style' haircuts amongst the youth) and Australia (where in Tullamarine, Victoria, a restaurant called "DiCaprio's" was established in 1998[citation needed]), 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 in its context given to mean either someone who has done great things and is revered and respected or is a member of royalty. Time magazine summed up the fame superhighway and its trappings in an interview with the actor in 2000, reporting: DiCaprio still thinks of himself as an edgy indie actor, not the Tiger Beat cover boy. "I have no connection with me during that whole Titanic Phenomenon and what my face became around the world," DiCaprio commented, adding, "I'll never reach that state of popularity again, and I don't expect to. It's not something I'm going to try to achieve either."
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 culture 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. Also, fans of the original novel claimed it did not do justice to Garland's work[citation needed].
[edit] Critically acclaimed acting
In 2002, DiCaprio began a concerted shift away from his stereotypical image and moved to engage himself with critically acclaimed directors by starring in two epic movies; Catch Me If You Can (directed by Steven Spielberg), and Gangs of New York (directed by Martin Scorsese). 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 gangster in Boston. His next film was Blood Diamond, released on December 15, 2006. While the film itself received mixed reviews, DiCaprio was praised for the authenticity of his Zimbabwean Afrikaner accent. 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.
He was asked to star in Robert De Niro's history-of-the-CIA film The Good Shepherd, but dropped out and was replaced by Matt Damon, his The Departed co-star.
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, 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 reteam with his Titanic co-star Kate Winslet on an adaptation of Richard Yates's critically-lauded 1961 novel of Revolutionary Road. The film of the same name will be helmed by Winslet's husband, Sam Mendes, and penned by Justin Haythe.[4] In addition to an already impressive career, DiCaprio is currently ranked the 5th Best Working Actor Today by The Screen Directory.[5]
[edit] Personal life
DiCaprio is best friends with actor Tobey Maguire, whom he beat to get roles in Roseanne and This Boy's Life. Leonardo dated Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen from 2002 to 2005. Since 2006, however, he has been dating Israeli international supermodel Bar Refaeli. In early 2007, DiCaprio visited his girlfriend's home country of Israel and met with Israeli Vice Premier and former Prime Minister Shimon Peres to discuss environmental issues. [4] In early April 2007, Leonardo announced his engagement to Bar Refaeli.
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.[citation needed]
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 his house has solar panels, that he owns three Toyota Prius cars, and has bought hybrids for family members.[citation needed] 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."[6]
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.[7][8]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Critters 3 | Josh | |
| 1992 | Poison Ivy | ||
| 1993 | This Boy's Life | Toby | |
| What's Eating Gilbert Grape | Arnie Grape | ||
| 1994 | The Foot Shooting Party | ||
| 1995 | A Hundred and One Nights | ||
| The Quick and the Dead | Kid | ||
| The Basketball Diaries | Jim Carroll | ||
| Total Eclipse | Arthur Rimbaud | ||
| 1996 | William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet | Romeo Montague | |
| Marvin's Room | Hank | ||
| 1997 | Titanic | Jack Dawson | |
| 1998 | The Man in the Iron Mask | King Louis XIV/Philippe | |
| Celebrity | Brandon Darrow | ||
| 2000 | The Beach | Richard | |
| 2001 | Don's Plum | Derek | |
| 2002 | Catch Me If You Can | Frank Abagnale Jr. | |
| Gangs of New York | Amsterdam Vallon | ||
| 2004 | The Aviator | Howard Hughes | |
| 2006 | Blood Diamond | Danny Archer | |
| The Departed | Billy Costigan | ||
| 2007 | 11th Hour | Narrator | (in production) |
| Blink | (announced) | ||
| 2008 | The Chancellor Manuscript | Peter Chancellor | (announced) |
| Revolutionary Road | Frank Wheeler | (pre-production) | |
| 2009 | The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt | Theodore Roosevelt | (announced) |
| Untitled Timothy Leary Biopic | Timothy Leary | (in negotiations) | |
| 2010 | Conspiracy of Fools | (under development) | |
| Untitled World's Fair Project | H. H. Holmes | (under development) |
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Academy Award
- Nominated: Best Supporting Actor, What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
- Nominated: Best Actor, The Aviator (2004)
- Nominated: Best Actor, Blood Diamond (2006)
[edit] BAFTA Award
- Nominated: Best Actor, The Aviator (2005)
- Nominated: Best Actor, The Departed (2007)
[edit] 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)
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sean Penn for Mystic River |
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama for The Aviator 2005 |
Succeeded by Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote |
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Catalano, Grace (1997). Leonardo DiCaprio: Modern-Day Romeo. New York, New York: Dell Publishing Group, 7-15. ISBN0-440-22701-1.
- ^ 2000 Rolling Stone Covers
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and 11th Hour at Ukula.
- ^ Leonardo DiCaprio bio, trivia, pictures from About Gay Movies
- ^ Leonardo Gives It Up
[edit] External links
- Leonardo DiCaprio at the Internet Movie Database
- Leonardo DiCaprio Official Website
- Leonardo DiCaprio Official Eco-site
- A Leonardo Dicaprio Fan Site
- Leonardo DiCaprio Official MySpace
- Official DiCaprio Environmental Eleventh Hour film site
- Complete list of roles turned down by Leonardo DiCaprio
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since March 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | 1974 births | American film actors | American soap opera actors | American television actors | Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) | German-Americans | Living people | People from Los Angeles | Italian-American actors
