This year marks over 25 years since Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio made his acting debut. As a fresh faced, ambitious teen, DiCaprio appeared in several family soap operas in the early 1990s that had decent runs, including Parenthood and Growing Pains. A quarter of a century later and two Golden Globe wins for Best Actor (The Wolf of Wall Street in 2014 and The Aviator in 2005), DiCaprio has arguably become one of the most recognizable faces in the world, albeit sadly without that coveted Oscar win. Sealing his fate as a global heartthrob in age-old romantic drama Romeo + Juliet in 1996, then following it up next year with the blockbuster Titanic, Leo subsequently shot to stardom and worked with some of cinema’s finest directors, including Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino. Although a hard list to make given his impressive CV, here we take a look back some of his most remarkable roles.
Inception – Dom Cobb
One of the most convoluted and sophisticated plots in recent cinematic history, Inception is not simply background fodder at a party – but instead requires every ounce of your concentration, lest you miss something vital to the intricate story. The science-fiction heist thriller essentially investigates the idea of where an idea comes from, guaranteed to mess with your mind from start to end. DiCaprio plays a man sent on a mission to perform ‘inception’ on an unsuspecting businessman with the plan to derail his corporation. While wrestling with his own inner demons, Dom and his team (featuring great performances from Tom Hardy, Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) race against time and gravity to plant a single thought inside the man’s head and exit before potentially becoming stuck in limbo.
Catch Me If You Can – Frank Abagnale, Jr.
Staring alongside Tom Hanks, Catch Me If You Can depicts the true story of conman Frank Abagnale, Jr, who before his 19th birthday, managed to con his away around the U.S.A in a range of exceedingly difficult ploys. These include successfully posing as a pilot, doctor and lawyer, among others. Abagnale embezzled millions of dollars through check fraud, but when the law finally caught up with him, his sentence was reduced on the understanding he would work alongside the investigator (Hanks) who caught him, helping him catch fellow conmen at large. His job involved helping the banks safe guard their checks, by pointing out flaws in their security. In fact, it’s possible that Abagnale’s exploits helped pave the way for current payment protection systems, such as paysafecard, to aid in preventing fraud and forgery from affecting millions of people across the world today.
The Beach – Richard
Directed by Danny Boyle and released in the year 2000, The Beach sees DiCaprio play a young traveler called Richard, in the cinematic adaptation of Alex Garland’s classic novel of the same name. Richard discovers a secret society of travelers off the coast of Thailand, who at first appear to have created a utopian and idealistic society, until things unravel and we find that this supposedly serene group is more fragmented and dangerous than it seems.
With DiCaprio lined up to work alongside legendary director Martin Scorsese again with The Devil in the White City and our first look of his upcoming performance in the gripping trailer for The Revenant (see below) we’re hoping that DiCaprio can continue his incredible and solid acting career – to eventually obtain the Best Actor Oscar prize that he rightfully deserves.
Originally published August 19, 2015. Updated November 12, 2018.
