Catch ‘im If You Can: Leonardo turns 33

Pratik Dogra

When others of his age were just setting out of their universities, trying to find their feet in the world, Leonardo Wilhelm Di Caprio was Hollywood’s ‘next big thing’ for whom encounters with millions of screaming teenage girls was a part of his daily routine. For some, this may have been an excuse to go astray and blame it on the ‘trappings of celeberityhood’, for Leo this was just the beginning. Born in Hollywood, California on November 11, 1974, the baby-faced Leo was always drawn towards acting. After undertaking a summer course in performance art, he moved on to the Center for Enriched Studies (CES) in Los Angeles. He later enrolled himself at the John Marshall High School in Los Angeles. Leo started auditioning for parts in 1988, at the age of fourteen and appeared in a series of commercials and educational films. From there he made his way gradually up the acting chain dabbling in sitcoms besides being cast in a B-grade feature, "Critters III." Early days His first big break came in 1992, when he was cast in a much sought after role of Tobias Wolff- the adaptation of Wolff`s best selling novel "This Boy`s Life." With co-stars like Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin, and director Michael Caton Jones, "This Boy`s Life" remains one of Leo`s favorite acting experiences till date. However, Leo’s extraordinary performance as ‘Arnie’, a mentally handicapped boy, in the critically acclaimed "What`s Eating Gilbert Grape” showcased his acting prowess and earned him an Academy Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1994. Next up was the ‘Total Eclipse’, a fictionalized account of a passionate and violent homosexual relationship between two 19th century French poets; followed by ‘Don`s Plum’ (1995 and 1996), a low-budget drama featuring Leo with some of his friends; "The Quick and the Dead", with Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman as his co-stars; ‘The Basketball Diaries’ he starred as Jim Carroll, a heroin addict. In 1996, Leo was paired with rising star Claire Danes in the slick and contemporary screen-adaptation of William Shakespeare`s ultimate love story "Romeo and Juliet". He also featured as Meryl Streep`s disillusioned and the criminal son in "Marvin`s Room" later that year, besides he got to work again with Robert De Niro, producer TriBeca Films. Superstardom From being ‘an emerging star’ he became ‘superstar’ when Leo played Jack Dawson in the 1997 super blockbuster ‘Titanic’. The movie became the highest grosser ever worldwide with eleven Academy Awards.

His female fan following, cut across nationalities, was nothing short of hysteria, the reason he earned labels such as the ‘teenage heart-throb’ and sex symbol. The prestigious ‘People’ placed him in their annual "Most Beautiful People" issue on numerous occasions. Leo also adorned the covers of scores of magazines, ranging from the ‘Vanity Fair’ to the ‘Rolling Stone’, and was even the most ‘searched for personality’ during the nascent years of the Internet. Legendary director Woody Allen cast Leo in "Celebrity," a satire on a young, out of control movie star, a spoof on of his real life "teen idol". Few lows and the Golden run Leo starrer ‘The Man in the Iron Mask’ virtually knocked itself out from the box office owing the top spot to ‘Titanic’ for a major part of 1998. In 1999, Danny Boyle`s adaptation of the best selling novel ‘The Beach’ marked Leo`s first starring role after Titanic. The movie gathered a lot of negative press due to clashes with local Thai authorities over the permission to alter settings in the shooting location, Ko Phi Phi Island. The movie sank at the box office. Leonardo played the lead in the ‘Gangs of New York’(2002), directed by Martin Scorsese, and ‘Catch Me If You Can"(2002), directed by Steven Spielberg. His performance as the con man Frank Abagnale Jr. in ‘Catch Me If You Can’ got him his third Golden Globe nomination from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Forging a collaboration with Martin Scorsese, the duo released their second movie together ‘The Aviator’(2004), a biopic about Howard Hughes, an American businessman. The movie received 5 Academy Awards, and a Best Actor nomination for Leo, besides a Golden Globe for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama. Leo’s golden run with Scorsese continued with ‘The Departed’ (2006) where he played Billy Costigan, a smart undercover cop in Boston. Their third film together hit the bull’s eye too at the box office. The ‘Blood Diamond’(2006), released two months later though the film itself received mixed reviews, Leo was praised for the authenticity of his Zimbabwean Afrikaner accent, difficult for English to emulate. When the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored him with two nominations for Best Leading Actor in a Drama for both the films, it became a historic first that an actor received two leading nominations in the same year. Other highlights of his illustrative career are his being ranked the 5th Best Working Actor Today (2007) by The Screen Directory. In May 2007, Leo was among the Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in The World.

The Philanthropist Apart from acting, Leo is a committed environmentalist. With a lifelong passion for creating environmental awareness, Leo was invited to chair ‘The Earth Day 2000’. In a special on the deterioration of the ozone level, he interviewed the then President Bill Clinton. Leo has received praise from environmental groups for opting to fly on commercial flights instead of chartering private jets, which use more fuel.

He drives a hybrid car and his house has solar panels. His actions have inspired other celebrities, such as Orlando Bloom and Penelope Cruz. In an article in Ukula about his recent film the ‘11th Hour’,which he co-wrote, co-produced and narrated, Leo cites global warming as "the number one environmental challenge."

On July 7, 2007, Leo presented the American leg of Live Earth. He also bought an island in Belize to create an eco-friendly resort. He has made special public appearances to spread the word about the dangers of global warming, one being The Oprah Winfrey Show. In 1998, he alongwith his mother donated USD 35,000 for a state of the art “Leonardo Di Caprio Computer Center” at the Los Feliz branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, the site of his childhood home.

A registered Democrat from California, Leo has also been actively promoting liberal causes, and in 2004 supported Senator John Kerry’s presidential campaign.

Forthcoming flicks

Leo will star in a Warner Bros film, his third with them, about the collapse of Enron, based on the book the ‘Conspiracy of Fools’. The film`s script is currently being negotiated.

Also in the pipeline are ‘The Chancellor Manuscript’, ‘Blink’, a biopic of LSD-spokesperson Professor Timothy Leary, and two projects in collaboration with Martin Scorsese, ‘Shutter Island’, and ‘The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt’.

Early this year, Leo signed on to re-team with his Titanic co-star, Kate Winslet, on an adaptation of Richard Yates’s critically lauded 1961 novel, the Revolutionary Road.

A cool head, coupled with exceptional acting skills and a maturity beyond years, Leo is one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood today. With age on his side, his fans have every reason to belive that his best is yet to come.