March 23, 2009

Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born on November 11th, 1974, in Hollywood, California. His name allegedly derives from his German mother Irmalin's having experienced a sudden kick from her unborn boy while enjoying a DaVinci painting at the Uffizi. One year after Leo's birth his parents divorced.

Leo's experience with film began at the young age of five when he appeared on his favorite show Romper Room and was nearly thrown off the set for misbehaving. After a series of commercials, educational films, occasional parts on TV series, he got his breakthrough part as Toby in This Boy's Life (1993). He co-stared with Robert DeNiro and Ellen Barkin. At age 10, his agent advised him to change his name to a more American- friendly Lenny Williams. Needless to say, he did not follow that advice.

His first Academy Award nomination came from his part of a mentally retarted boy named Arnie in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) in which he co-stared with the great actor Johnny Depp. Other equally difficult roles played by Leo include a drug troubled Jim Carroll (The Basketball Diaries), a tormented homosexual poet Rimbaud (Total Eclipse), the angry teenage son of a harried mother in (Marvin's Room), and the love-struck young soul of Romeo (Romeo + Juliet).

Superstardom came to Leo with his portrayal of Jack Dawson in 1997's Titanic, the highest grossing film ever, tied with Ben Hur for most Academy Awards (11), though Leo himself was not nominated. He co-stared with the great actress Kate Winslet and the two still remain friends. After a few low rated films, Leo achieved another hit with Catch Me If You Can, the true story of the con-man Frank Abagnale Jr. Other successful films include The Departed, Blood Diamond, and Body of Lies.

In Leo's most recent film, Revolutionary Road, he reunites with his Titanic co-stars, Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates, after 10 years.

On his wide range of roles: "The best thing about acting is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get paid for it. It's a great outlet. As for myself, I'm not sure who I am. It seems that I change every day."

Leonardo DiCaprio is an A-list star who will continue to make amazing films for many years to come.