Gangs of New York
In this historical drama, directed by Martin Scorsese, DiCaprio plays Amsterdam Vallon, a young Irish immigrant released from prison. He returns to the Five Points seeking revenge against William Cutting, his father’s killer and a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He knows that revenge can only be attained by infiltrating Cutting’s inner circle. Amsterdam’s journey becomes a fight for personal survival and to find a place for the Irish people in 1860’s New York. Co-starring Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis.
It was a unique time in history. A part of our history I never learned about. America was saying, bring us your hungry, bring us your poor, and then they were persecuted.
Catch Me If You Can
DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale, Jr. in this drama directed by Steven Spielberg. Abagnale, a master of deception and a brilliant forger, worked as a doctor, a lawyer, and as a co-pilot for a major airline, and was the most successful bank robber in the history of the U.S.– all before his 18th birthday. FBI Agent Carl Hanratty makes it his mission to capture Frank and bring him to justice, but Abagnale is always one step ahead of him. Co-starring Tom Hanks and Christopher Walken.
That guy… the best, a consummate professional. Tom is very much a role model for me because he is able to just refine what he does. He has such a passion and exuberance for the work. I don’t want to get cynical about what I do; I don’t ever want to lose that spirit. So he was a great example about how to retain all that even when you’re at the upper echelons of this business.
The Aviator
DiCaprio plays Howard Hughes in this biopic directed by Martin Scorsese. The drama recounts the years of his life from the late 1920s through the 1940s, an epoch when Hughes was directing and producing Hollywood movies and test flying innovative aircrafts he designed and created. It also follows his descent into madness as his compulsiveness for cleanliness gives way to frequent outbursts and ticks. He turns away those closest to him, confining himself and emerging only when absolutely necessary. Co-starring Cate Blanchett and Kate Beckinsale.
[Hughes was] the first American billionaire who had all the resources in the world but was somehow unable to find any sense of peace or happiness. It’s that great see-saw act in the movie that goes on. On one side, he’s having all the successes in the world. And on the other side the tiny microbes and germs are the things that are taking him downwards, because of his OCD and being a germaphobe.
The Departed
DiCaprio plays Billy Costigan in this crime thriller directed by Martin Scorsese. Billy is an undercover state cop who has infiltrated an Irish gang and Colin Sullivan is a mole in the police force working for the same mob. They both race to track down and identify each other before being exposed to the enemy, after both sides realize their outfit has a rat. Co-starring Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson.
They’re two sides of the same coin, it’s true. They’re products of their environment. They make certain choices early on in their own lives that affect everything that goes on in the film.
Blood Diamond
In this drama, directed by Edward Zwick, DiCaprio plays Danny Archer, a man tortured by his roots. With a strong survival instinct, he has made himself a key player in the business of conflict diamonds. Political unrest is rampant in Sierra Leone as people fight tooth for tooth. When Archer meets Solomon and the beautiful Maddy, his life changes forever as he is given a chance to make peace with the war around him. Co-starring Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly.
It was uncomfortable as an actor to portray this man in front of an African crew in locations like Mozambique where there was a tremendous amount of poverty. Mozambique is a country that is having an economic resurgence, but 4 out of 10 people supposedly have HIV or AIDS. It’s an astounding [number].
Body of Lies
In this thriller, directed by Ridley Scott, DiCaprio plays CIA operative Roger Ferris who uncovers evidence indicating that a major terrorist leader may be operating out of Jordan. He enlists the aid of CIA veteran Ed Hoffman in infiltrating the elusive saboteur’s vast underground network. During the course of his dangerous mission, Ferris gradually comes to question how much he can trust his presumed allies — who include not just Hoffman, but the outwardly helpful head of Jordanian intelligence as well. Co-starring Russell Crowe and Mark Strong.
You have this character that is in a deceitful world, trying to catch the enemy that he could never trust. But it is a dirty, ugly war. He’s trying to hold on to a semblance of morality and a belief in his country while his country is letting him down, and ironically he’s starting to trust people who are – while not exactly the enemy – not the people he’s beholden to.
Revolutionary Road
Di Caprio plays Frank Wheeler, in this drama directed by Sam Mendes, based on the book by Richard Yates. It’s 1955. Frank and April Wheeler live in the Connecticut suburbs with two young children. Frank commutes to New York City where he works in an office job while April stays at home as a housewife. But they’re not happy. April suggests that they move to Paris. April’s plan: she would be the breadwinner, getting a lucrative secretarial job, while Frank would have free time to find himself and whatever his passion. Initially skeptical, Frank ultimately agrees to April’s plan. When circumstances change around the Wheelers, April decides she will do whatever she has to to get herself out of her unhappy existence. Co-starring Kate Winslet and Christopher Fitzgerald.
And it really captured, certainly, Post-Industrial Revolution America where a lot of the American value systems were being formed; that iconic imagery of a man’s role in a household and a woman’s role in the household. Here are two people trying desperately to break free of that and hold on to some individualism in that very contained world.
Shutter Island
0 CommentsDiCaprio plays Teddy Daniels in this thriller, directed by Martin Scorsese. In 1954, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding near-by. Co-starring Emily Mortimer and Mark Ruffalo.
For one reason or another I have to say particually for this film, there was a somber mood, going home everyday, there were quite emotionally extremes and it is the nature of the character going through those emotional trauma, his history. And it is hard for those types of thins to rub off, but for the most part, I do like to lock myself away from most people during filming at the time. And so I wouldn’t necessarily get much of a reaction, as I was mostly alone.
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Esquire interview
DiCaprio gives his thoughts on the fame he attained after starring in the movie Titanic:
It wasn’t the era of penetrating Internet paparazzi that we have now. But my name wasn’t me anymore. I was sort of this thing. Kate felt it, too. But a lot of the attention was on me because of the teenage girls who repeatedly went to see the movie. I had the blond hair, and I was Jack Dawson, this heroic figure. So I set up everything in my personal life to rebel against that image in order to strip it down. I had a lot of fun stripping it down. But ultimately, that knocked me a few rungs down the ladder.
Inception
0 CommentsIn this science-fiction drama, directed by Christopher Nolan, Di Caprio plays Dominic Cobb, an industrial spy who instead of breaking into a person’s home, office, or even computer, gets the information he needs by getting into the person’s mind through their dreams. Cobb is also a fugitive who misses his children. Cobb is hired for a process called ‘inception’, changing dreams. Cobb is hesitant to do it but when the man offers to help Cobb go back to his children, he agrees. Co-starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page.
You know, it was interesting being part of this film, because I’m not a big dreamer. I never have been. I remember fragments of my dream, and I try to take a traditional sort of approach to researching this project and doing preparation for it. I read books on dream analysis, Freud’s book on the analysis of dreams, and tried to research it in that sort of form.
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DiCaprio, Refaeli split
DiCaprio and Refaeli split after five years of dating. The pair tried to keep their romance low profile despite their stardom.
Lively, DiCaprio dating
Lively and DiCaprio are spotted hugging on a yacht on the French Riviera during the festival last week. They were seen again looking friendly in Portofino, Italy. Source:
They seemed happy in each other’s company. They were laughing and walking together.
The Talks interview
DiCaprio gives an interview to The Talks. He discusses challenging himself with every film he does.
That really depends on the role. It’s always this grand search in the industry to find good material. Whenever there is good material they all jump on it and it’s like a food fight to get it made. That’s why so many things take years and years to develop because it all shows up on screen. If there are holes in the story structure, if it’s not a compelling, moving narrative, that shows on screen and the movie fails.
Django Unchained
Tarantino releases Django Unchained, which stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio. The story follows Django, played by Foxx, who is on a quest to free his wife from slavery with the help of Dr. King Schultz, played by Waltz.
… There’s two types of violence in this film: There’s the brutal reality that slaves lived under for … 245 years, and then there’s the violence of Django’s retribution. And that’s movie violence, and that’s fun and that’s cool, and that’s really enjoyable and kind of what you’re waiting for.
J. Edgar
0 CommentsIn this biographical drama, directed by Clint Eastwood, DiCaprio plays J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover was the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 50 years. He was feared, admired, reviled and revered, a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it. His methods were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted prize. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life. Co-starring Armie Hammer and Naomi Watts.
What I was fascinated by was his take on entering J. Edgar Hoover’s career during a time of almost a terrorist invasion by communists. The Red Scare, that sort of paranoia that was infused in our country, and the lawlessness of these bank robbers that were going from state to state and becoming free men when they crossed state lines, and how J. Edgar Hoover really transformed the police system in America and created this Federal Bureau that to this day is one of the most feared, respected and revered police forces in the entire world.
The Great Gatsby
0 CommentsDiCaprio plays Jay Gatsby in this film of the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald, directed by Baz Luhrmann. After attending one of Gatsby’s legendary parties, Nick is asked by Gatsby to arrange a meeting with his cousin, and true love, Daisy, who is now married to the brutish and philandering Tom Buchanan, Co-starring Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton.
I remember reading the book in high school and always thinking of Gatsby as this strong, stoic, suave, mysterious man who had everything under control. But when I read it as an adult I realised he is a hollow man, a shell of a person trying to find meaning, who is not completely in touch with reality.
Esquire interview
DiCaprio talks about what comes with being the lead in a movie:
There’s so much more responsibility in being a lead. There’s the arc of that character and how each of your decisions affects the story line. When I was in Gilbert Grape, I could spit spaghetti out and climb trees and make any noise I wanted, because Johnny had to move the story along, for the story to make sense.
Oscar nomination
0 CommentsDiCaprio is nominated for Best Actor at the 86th Academy Awards for portraying Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street.
I’ve realized long ago there is no determining what people think or feel. You just have to feel grateful when these situations arise. I’m proud I even got to make this movie, which is insane in its own right.
The Wolf of Wall Street
0 CommentsIn this biographical drama, directed by Martin Scorsese, DiCaprio plays Jordan Belfort, a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 36 months in prison for defrauding investors in a massive 1990’s securities scam that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including shoe designer Steve Madden. Co-starring Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie.
I wanted to do a film that to me was a depiction of what I felt like are the times that we live in. Jordan Belfort to me was somebody that not only was I obsessed with playing since 2008, watching the destruction of our economy, he’s not the problem, but he represents something within our very nature, and something within our society that is very wrong.
Ice Bucket Challenge: Leonardo DiCaprio
DiCaprio accepts the ALS challenge from David Beckham and nominates Dave Collyer , Mark Little and Ben van Beurden.
