Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can
It was revealed this week that Leonardo DiCaprio would be playing President Woodrow Wilson in a new biopic; a movie that he would also produce.
DiCaprio is no stranger to the biopic film as he has taken on several real-life characters throughout his illustrious acting career. We take a look at some of these roles.
- The Basketball Diaries
The Basketball Diaries was released back in 1995 and it was one of the movies that helped put a young DiCaprio on the map. He took on the role of Jim Carroll in a movie that was an adaptation of Carroll’s juvenile diaries.
Directed by Scott Kalvert, the movie follows Carroll’s fall into the world of heroin addiction and what he does to be able to get his hands on the drug.
This is a stark and unflinching tale about teenage drug use and it really does make compelling viewing - not to mention it is not over preachy.
DiCaprio gives a fine performance in this very complex role and you really get a glimpse of what a great actor he would become.
- Catch Me If You Can
Catch Me If You Can was a more light-hearted biopic as DiCaprio took on the role of Frank W. Abagnale Jr in this comedy drama.
Abagnale Jr was a teenager who successfully performed a series of cons that were worth millions of dollars as he posed as a pilot and a doctor. The movie follows the FBI’s search for him.
Steven Spielberg was in the director’s chair for the film, while Tom Hanks was also on board as FBI bank fraud agent Carl Hanratty.
Catch Me If You Can is a tongue in cheek movie that really is a lot of fun from start to finish. While DiCaprio may be a man who has broken the law he plays him in a way where you can’t help but like him.
- The Aviator
The Aviator was DiCaprio’s second collaboration with director Martin Scorsese and it remains his greatest big screen performance.
The Aviator was a biopic movie about Howard Hughes and followed his life from the 1920s through to 1947.
During that time he became a film producer as well as a lover of aviation. But he became increasingly unstable due to a severe obsessive compulsive disorder.
This is just a tour-de-force performance by DiCaprio as he truly left his pretty boy image behind and announced himself as a serious Hollywood heavyweight.
He really does get under the skin of this fascinating man and, along with Scorsese; he makes a movie that really does draw you in.
DiCaprio went on to be nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, while the film picked up ten other nominations including Best Picture.
- J Edgar
More recently DiCaprio has played J Edgar Hoover in the biopic movie that was directed by Clint Eastwood; this was the first time that the pair had worked together.
The movie looked at the public and private life of Hoover; who was the face of law enforcement in America.
Of all of Dicaprio’s biopic performances this is the weakest but that is mainly down to a script that really does the whole cast a disservice.
Hoover was one of the darkest figures in American politics and yet he is not portrayed this way. Sadly J Edgar is a missed opportunity to tell a tale of a complex and fascinating character.
- The Wolf Of Wall Street
And another biopic movie is on the horizon for DiCaprio as he is set to reunite with Martin Scorsese for The Wolf Of Wall Street.
The movie is an adaptation of the Jordan Belfort, which chronicles his rise to a wealthy stockbroker before becoming involved in crime and corruption.
DiCaprio will take on the role of Belfort in the film, while Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, Jon Favreau and Kyle Chandler are all also on the cast list.
The Wolf Of Wall Street is released 17th January 2014.
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