Everything indicates that this is going to be (finally) the year of Leonardo DiCaprio at the Oscars. Practically everyone considers him the clear winner (with the permission of Michael Fassbinder's Steve Jobs) after five nominations behind him, four of them in the category of best leading actor (The Reverent, The Aviator, Blood Diamond and The Wolf of Wall Street) and one as a supporting actor.
His interpretation of the explorer Hugh Glass in The Reverent is one of those that leaves a mark and deserves to be awarded a golden statuette this coming February 28. For now, this work has already allowed him to win the Golden Globe, which is usually considered a good forecast for the Oscars, although in the case of DiCaprio the formula has not worked. With three Hollywood foreign press accolades on his trophy list, he has yet to miss the movie jackpot. However, the American actor has a resume of good performances behind him since he successfully began his film career with This Boy's Life (1993), alongside his admired Robert de Niro, who personally selected him to co-star in the film.
The first Oscar nomination came at the age of 19 thanks to What's Eating Gilbert Grape?. Now, at 41, he is one step away from breaking that losing streak that has made him the eternal nominee for the golden statuette and the actor who best hides his discomfort at the ceremony when he has lost.
There is no doubt that we are facing one of the best performers of his generation, capable of reinventing himself with each new film and showing everyone that he has always been much more than a pretty face. So we are going to look back and recover those performances for which Leo would have deserved to be awarded or at least to have been nominated for his work.
Who does Gilbert Grape love? (1993)
A very young DiCaprio was nominated for the first time by the Academy for playing Arnie, a boy with mental disabilities in the dramatic comedy directed by Lasse Hallström. The critics praised the difficult role of the young DiCaprio, extraordinary in a balanced, honest and moving work that eclipsed Johnny Depp himself. He was nominated for best supporting actor in 1993, but the Oscar went to Tommy Lee Jones for The Fugitive. Cinemas around the world welcomed the film with pleasure and enthusiasm.
Titanic (1997)
Kate Winslet has recently acknowledged in an interview that her character in Titanic, Rose DeWitt Bukater, may have saved Jack Dawson from freezing to death after the sinking of the ocean liner. DiCaprio got into the skin of that young hustler from low class who gets a ticket to travel on the ship playing poker. Despite the fact that the film received fourteen nominations, the role that launched DiCaprio to stardom was not nominated at the 1998 Oscar ceremony, a fact for which the young man expressed regret at the time. His phrase “I am the king of the world!” ("I'm the King of the World!") It wasn't in the script, it was improvised, and Cameron liked it so much that he dropped it. Thanks to the director's insistence, the actor was able to end up playing Jack, a role for which the producers had cast Matthew McConaughey. DiCaprio's success was dazzling from then on and he came to consider leaving the interpretation because he did not want to become an idol of young girls.
Gangs of New York (2002)
In the first of his several collaborations with director Martin Scorsese, DiCaprio played Amsterdam Vallon, a young Irish immigrant in gang war-torn New York in 1863, who wants revenge on “Bill the Butcher” (Daniel Day-Lewis). ), the man who killed his father. Despite his outstanding performance, on that occasion almost all the praise went to his co-star Daniel Day-Lewis, who became an Oscar nominee. The film garnered a total of ten Academy citations, but ultimately went empty handed.
The Aviator (2005)
In his second collaboration with Martin Scorsese, DCaprio stepped into the shoes of eccentric billionaire businessman and film producer Howard Hughes. A great challenge with which the actor once again amazed the public and critics alike for his acting ability. Leo's work was almost self-destructive, as passionate and vibrant as his own character. Furthermore, his Hughes had to span two full decades (from 1920 to 1940), quite a difficult challenge involving physical and personality evolution. The year was 2005 and it was his first nomination in the category of best actor, an award that Jamie Foxx finally won for another biopic, that of Ray Charles.
Blood Diamond (2006)
In the film directed by Edward Zwick, Leonardo played a Rhodesian diamond smuggler involved in the civil war in Sierra Leone. The film, which has a brutal background on the diamond trade, received rave reviews and DiCaprio, who built a character with a classic tone, was praised above all for the authenticity of his Afrikaner accent, which is quite difficult to emulate. The thriller was a hit with academics and garnered five nominations, including DiCaprio's third. This time it was Forest Whitaker who took home the statuette for The Last King of Scotland.
The Departed (2006)
Since academics decided to nominate DiCaprio for his role in Blood Diamond at the 2007 gala, his performance in The Departed fell into oblivion. His role as an infiltrated police officer in a gang of thugs led by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) was superb and, at least, would have deserved a nomination in the category of best supporting actor.
Revolutionary Road (2008)
The reunion on the big screen of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio eleven years after Titanic once again demonstrated the chemistry between these two friends in real life. Directed by Sam Mendes (Winslet's husband at the time) the viewer witnessed the story of a wealthy marriage in crisis. Both actors are splendid as Frank and April, but neither was nominated for an Oscar for their work. The only performer to receive a nomination was Michael Shannon for best supporting actor, as well as costume design and art direction.
Origin (2010)
In Christopher Nolan's exceptional film, DiCaprio was a fugitive expert in the art of appropriating, during sleep, the secrets of the subconscious. His interpretation full of authenticity hypnotized the viewer again, but did not convince the academics, who put aside a possible nomination and opted only for awarding four technical categories of the film.
Shutter Island (2010)
Another of the films in which DiCaprio once again demonstrated his acting quality under Scorsese's orders. In Shutter Island, the American director weaved a complex story about the world of madness and the confusion between dreams and reality. The Teddy Daniels that the actor played was a character full of edges that made the viewer dislodge while investigating the disappearance of a murderess who had escaped from a mental hospital. On this occasion, Leo's work was not the only one rejected by academics, since the film had no option at the Oscars.
J.Edgar (2011)
We are not facing the roundest movie that Clint Eastwood has filmed. However, DiCaprio's three-hour-long performance as controversial first FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was astounding. The film recounted the evolution of the character over the years in the personal and work spheres. It is logical to consider as unfair, at the very least, the fact that he was not even nominated.
Django Unchained (2012)
DiCaprio dazzled audiences and critics alike with his first villain role handed to him by Quentin Tarantino in this bloody western about slavery, the great taboo subject in the United States, as a backdrop. To recreate the evil landowner Calvin Candie, the actor got so much into the character that he even cut his hand with a glass in the middle of a sequence in which he came out and it seemed the most natural thing in the world. His brilliant role earned him a Golden Globe nomination for supporting actor alongside Christoph Waltz. The Austrian actor was the one who took this award and also the Oscar (where DiCaprio was ignored).
The Great Gatsby (2013)
DiCaprio moved like a fish to water in the role of the rich and successful young man from Scott Fitgerald's novel that Australian Baz Luhrmann brought to the big screen. Although the narration was the work of Tobey Maguire's character, it was Jay Gatsby who completely dominated the story of a man obsessed with the idea of recovering the love he let escape years ago. DiCaprio's role would have deserved a nomination. The film took home two Academy Awards for production and costume design.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
It is his fifth collaboration with Martin Scorsese and his wildest role to date, with scenes where drugs and money reigned supreme and he even threw midgets at a target. A fast-paced film that chronicled the adventures of Jordan Belfort, a New York stockbroker who became a billionaire at a very young age, at 26, and was sent to prison for stock market manipulation and money laundering, among other charges. The film was the return of the best Scorsese behind the camera and an exceptional and brutal Leonardo DiCaprio in front of it.
