Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio (Photo from Wikipedia)

Leonardo DiCaprio started very young as a member of the cast of Growing Pains, but his career was destined to stardom, both due to his enormous talent and to his looks that captivated the hearts of millions of girls throughout the world. His film career started to take an important shift with movies such as What's Eating Gilbert Grape and The Quick and the Dead, where he was called to act next to big stars like Johnny Deep and Gene Hackman. He matured to take lead roles in Romeo and Juliet and Marvin's Room next to Hollywood's King and Queen, Robert DeNiro and Meryll Streep. These were already great credits for a young actor, but nobody would have ever expected 1997, the year when this great young actor became a legend. This was the year of Titanic, a film that touched audiences worldwide and created a tremendous buzz around DiCaprio, the likes of which had been seen only in actors like James Dean or Marlon Brando, and perhaps Tom Cruise.

In Titanic, he captured the interest of producers who saw in him a new money machine. One of the biggest directors who found confirmation in his extraordinary acting capabilities was Steven Spielberg who cast him to play opposite Tom Hanks in Catch Me if You Can, but what really triggered the major change was his association with Martin Scorsese who was looking for a good substitute for Robert DeNiro. Their artistic relationship brought to the silver screen four amazing films, with Shutter Island being the last. DiCaprio delivered amazing performances, and Scorsese found a second youth with him, able to explore places that he had not touched before in his already long and very successful and inspiring career.

Following Scorsese, another genius and still very young director wanted DiCaprio: Chris Nolan, for the film Inception, a revolutionary vision perfectly understood by Leonardo and fully implemented in his acting, Next DiCaprio will work with Clint Eastwood. The greatness of DiCaprio lies in the fact that he believes in being a star through acting, and not through private craziness. In other words, he is a professional actor who merges into his roles without leaving anything unattended. His genius is to be able to respond to the will of the director and at the same time make the film his as well, a quality that very few actors have. He never lets the star take over the actor, and never the actor take over the character. While he is still young he has the maturity of the best as proof that great actors are born with a special DNA. Regardless of their preparation, they have a natural predisposition to success.

Like most of his successful colleagues, DiCaprio also has also founded his own production company and so far he has proven himself a valid producer. Not long ago he directed a nice documentary focusing on environmental issues, things dear to him. What is most intriguing is his respect for his role as a public figure; he was born in Hollywood but it is fair to say that he was also born for Hollywood. Unfortunately for him, as with many other sex symbols, the Academy has failed so far to give him an Oscar but time is on his side. Like another great handsome actor, Paul Newman, his time will come. While so far his interest is still mainly focused on acting, it will be interesting to see him directing a full feature film in the future. His attention to detail and his reach for perfection are important elements that great directors need and we are certain that no matter what he does, he will be a huge success.