About Leonardo DiCaprio
To some, Leonardo DiCaprio entered their lives back when Titanic first hit the big screen. For others it may have been the mind-altering movie Inception. While there’s still the crowd who continue to swoon over his acting chops in Basketball Diaries. Me on the other hand? I still rate his acting skills at a tender young age when he played Gilbert Grape’s intellectually disabled brother in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
So I started to think about some of the all time best performances by Leo.
While it was hard to narrow down Leonardo’s iconic career to only 13 movies and tv shows, I decided to go for a mix of my favorites and the most iconic parts he’s ever played. Here’s hoping you recognize him in these movies and tv shows.
1. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)
Leonardo DiCaprio was super young when he starred opposite the likes of Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Darlene Cates in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? It follows the life of Gilbert Grape, a shop assistant who works at a local grocery store and who cares for his morbidly obese mother and younger brother (played by DiCaprio) who has an intellectual disability.
2. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a novel of the same name, Catch Me If You Can, which is based on the real life of con man Frank Abagnale (played by DiCaprio). It follows his outrageous con-jobs all the way to eventually being caught by the FBI. As far as crime comedy-dramas go, it’s a highly entertaining ride.
3. Romeo and Juliet (1996)
This retelling of Shakespeare’s classic romantic tragedy by Baz Luhrmann saw Leonardo DiCaprio take on the titular role of heart throb Romeo. Don’t expect a pound for pound “cover song” of the original Romeo and Juliet play, as this version modernises the tale, and plays with hearts as much as it does with guns.
4. Gangs of New York (2002)
Gangs of New York is a period specific movie which is set against a long running feud between a group of Catholic-Protestants and some Irish immigrants in New York during the year 1863. The movie is brutal, violent, visceral and telling of the human condition. In this movie, Leonardo DiCaprio starred opposite famed method actor Daniel Day-Lewis who steals the show.
5. Titanic (1997)
I’d be really surprised if you’ve never heard of the movie Titanic. Loosely based on the doomed ship’s voyage, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a lower class passenger who falls in love with a first class woman named Rose. Unfortunately, their romance doesn’t last long because Rose wouldn’t share the floating door with Jack. Selfish, much?
6. Shutter Island (2010)
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this thriller directed by Martin Scorsese in which DiCaprio’s character is investigating a murder on this prison island for the mentally insane. Unfortunately, as Shutter Island progresses, we learn that all is not what it seems and there just might be a twist at the end with an epic “gotcha” moment.
RELATED: 21 Movies like Shutter Island
7. The Great Gatsby (2013)
Another Baz Luhrmann film, The Great Gatsby is based on the 1925 book of the same name. In it, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jay Gatsby, a reclusive millionaire who throws parties and is hopeful that he will one day be reunited with his love, Daisy. All of this happens in the movie plus a lot of other sordid misdeeds and, unfortunately for Gatsby, Daisy turns out to be everything except what he hoped her to be.
8. The Revenant (2015)
In The Revenant, Leonardo DiCaprio plays fur trapper Hugh Glass who is attacked by a bear and left for dead by his fellow adventurers. The remainder of the film then focuses on a badly mauled Glass exacting his revenge. For me, the bear attack is the highlight of the film.
9. The Basketball Diaries (1995)
Based on the autobiographical novel of the same name, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jim Carroll, a drug addicted teen who is a star basketball player. The Basketball Diaries deals with addiction, adolescence and abuse. It’s a thoughtful movie given it was so early in DiCaprio’s career.
10. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
The Wolf of Wall Street tells the story of Jordan Belfort and how his financial firm engaged in corruption and fraud. Like all good movies about fraudsters, this one tracks the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort and, thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s a wild debaucherous ride.
11. The Departed (2006)
Leonardo DiCaprio stars opposite screen legend Jack Nicholson in The Departed where Nicholson is a mob boss and DiCaprio plays the undercover state trooper investigating him. There’s nonstop guile and deceit thrown around by every character in this film. You simply won’t know who to trust.
12. The Aviator (2004)
Another film directed by Martin Scorsese, The Aviator depicts the life of inventor Howard Hughes and how his OCD eventually begins to cripple him. As the famed inventor, Leonardo DiCaprio taps into the faults and eccentricities of Hughes so well that by the time the movie is over you won’t be able to tell the two of them apart.
13. Inception (2010)
Leonardo DiCaprio isn’t really known for his science fiction films but this isn’t your standard run of the mill sci-fi flick. In Inception, he plays a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconsciousness of his targets. Thanks to the directing majestic-ness of Christopher Nolan, the entire movie is so mind-altering it’ll make you feel like you’re in a dream state.
Have you seen any of these Leonardo DiCaprio movies and tv shows?
Have we added some extra Leo movies and TV shows to your ever-growing bucket list?
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