Leonardo
Wilhelm DiCaprio (born November 11, 1974), is an American
actor. He was born in Los Angeles, California, the son
of George DiCaprio and Irmalin Idenbirkin. His name
allegedly came about because his pregnant mother was
standing in front of a Leonardo da Vinci painting at
a museum in Italy when he kicked, which made her decide
to name him after the famous artist.
Leo's father, a distributor of comic
books, is Italian-American and his mother, a former
legal secretary, is German. His parents divorced when
he was a year old. He grew up in Echo Park. At age
five, he appeared on his favorite TV series, Romper
Room, and was almost fired for misbehaving. He attended
John Marshall High School in Los Angeles.
He was rejected by an agent early
in his career for having a name that sounded too foreign,
suggesting that it should be changed to Lenny Williams,
but DiCaprio refused.
His acting career began in 1990 when
he was cast in the role of Garry Buckman on the TV
comedy/drama series Parenthood, where he met his best
friend, actor Tobey Maguire. In that same year, DiCaprio
appeared on the soap opera Santa Barbara in the role
of Mason Capwell. From 1991 to 1992, he had the role
of Luke Brower, a homeless boy, on the sitcom Growing
Pains.
DiCaprio is most famous for his roles
in theatrical motion pictures. His debut role was
as Josh in Critters 3 (1991). His break-through 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. He portrayed a mentally retarded boy so convincingly
in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) that some people
thought he really was.
The black-and-white movie Don's Plum,
a low-budget drama featuring the actor and some of
his friends, including Tobey Maguire, making crude
jokes while hanging out in a Los Angeles diner, was
filmed in 1995-1996. Its release was later blocked
in the U.S. and Canada by DiCaprio and Maguire, who
argued they never intended to make a theatrical feature.
It premiered February 10, 2001 in Berlin and Variety
called it an "unpleasant and tedious ensembler."
DiCaprio also played the male lead in Romeo + Juliet
(1996), a very updated modern day version of Shakespeare's
play.
The move from star to superstar came
when DiCaprio played Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997).
The highest grossing movie ever, it tied with Ben-Hur
(1959) for receiving the most Academy Awards, though
DiCaprio himself was not nominated (The Lord of the
Rings: The Return of the King would later match Ben
Hur and Titanic's eleven Oscars).
In 1994, DiCaprio was nominated for
an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
for What's Eating Gilbert Grape. He was nominated
for the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor
in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for What's
Eating Gilbert Grape; Best Performance by an Actor
in a Motion Picture - Drama for Titanic; and Best
Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
for Catch Me If You Can (2002), which co-starred Tom
Hanks.
DiCaprio sued Playgirl to stop the
New York-based monthly magazine from publishing unauthorized
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
June 29, 1998, for an undisclosed amount.
Recently, DiCaprio has taken to political
issues. He is especially fond of the environment.
DiCaprio is currently starring in
the critically acclaimed film The Aviator, directed
by Martin Scorsese, portraying the eccentric Howard
Hughes. He was nominated and won the Best Actor award
(Drama) at the Golden Globes 2005.
Filmography
Critters 3 (1991)
Poison Ivy (1992)
This Boy's Life (1993)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
The Foot Shooting Party (1994) (short subject)
A Hundred and One Nights of Simon Cinema (1995)
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
The Basketball Diaries (1995)
Total Eclipse (1995)
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Marvin's Room (1996)
Titanic (1997)
The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
Celebrity (1998)
The Beach (2000)
Don's Plum (2001)
Gangs of New York (2002)
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
The Aviator (2004)
The Departed (2006) (currently in pre-production)
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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