Leonardo DiCaprio's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Growing Pains Luke Brower 100 Greatest Teen Stars Leonardo Di… Celebrities Uncensored Leonardo Di… Parenthood Garry Buckman

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

Leonardo DiCaprio's 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. In the year following his birth, she and his Italian father, George, were divorced. He grew up in Echo Park, then a particularly seedy, drug-dominated area of Los Angeles. At five he appeared on his favorite TV show Romper Room (1953) and was nearly thrown off for misbehaving. After a string of commercials, educational films ("Mickey's Safety Club"), occasional parts in TV series, a debut film role as Josh in Critters 3 (1991), a continuing role as the homeless boy Luke in the TV series Growing Pains (1985), he got his break-through part as Toby in This Boy's Life (1993), co-starring with 'Robert De Niro' and 'Ellen Barkin'.

The part led the New York Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics to name him runner-up for Best Supporting Actor. His first Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations came for the difficult role of Arnie in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993). Equally challenging parts were a drug-troubled Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries (1995), the tormented homosexual poet Rimbaud in Total Eclipse (1995), and the angry teenage son of a harried mother in Marvin's Room (1996). He made a major impact with his starring role in a very updated Romeo + Juliet (1996). Superstardom came to DiCaprio playing Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997), highest grossing film ever, tied with Ben-Hur (1959) for most Academy Awards, though Leo himself was not nominated. His performance in the remake of The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) was poorly received, but the film still turned a profit. His next major film, The Beach (2000), was not a success, but he made another comeback in Catch Me If You Can (2002) and remains an A-list star.


TRIVIA:

• 'Martin Scorsese' (qv) is his favorite director.
• Attended Seeds Elementary School at UCLA where he took summer courses in performance art
• He purchased a 104-acre island off the coast of Belize in 2005 and plans to develop a resort with renewable energy sources. Purchase price for the island, Blackadore Caye, was estimated to be $1.75 million.
• When he was a child, his favorite films were _Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)_ (qv), _Watership Down (1978)_ (qv) and _Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)_ (qv).
• (1997) Chosen by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World."
• (1998) Chosen by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World."
• In 2006 in "The Independent", he named his ten favorite movies as: _Ladri di biciclette (1948)_ (qv), _Taxi Driver (1976)_ (qv), _Lawrence of Arabia (1962)_ (qv), _8½ (1963)_ (qv), _The Third Man (1949)_ (qv), _Yojimbo (1961)_ (qv), _Sunset Blvd. (1950)_ (qv), _The Shining (1980)_ (qv) and _East of Eden (1955)_ (qv).
• Was cast in the lead role in 'Baz Luhrmann' (qv)'s doomed Alexander The Great-project.