If you’re like me, in the 90’s you got real sick and tired of hearing the name Leonardo DiCaprio jumping forth from every teenage girls lips every 10 seconds. Just reading his name completely turned me off… not to mention I HATED Titanic, so that didn’t help either.
Having said that, an undeniable truth began to jump out at me a couple of years ago that I have fought against admitting, but is no less true from my denials. What is this great truth? Leonardo DiCaprio is one hell of an actor.
Yes, Leo has been in some dud movies, but I’ve always said that the public FAR overestimate the impact an actor has on the quality of a movie compared to it’s director (see future post on this topic). Even in the dud films, when you isolate Leo’s performance from everything else, you realize he’s doing a pretty good job with the character he’s been given.
The film that finally made me jump up and give this man his due was Catch Me If You Can. It’s not an easy task to star opposite Tom Hanks and hold your own. But he did, and did it well.
I remember shocking myself a few years ago when I heard a rumor that Leo was going to be cast as the older Anakin in Attack of the Clones… and actually LOVING the idea. Seriously, can you imagine how much better that character would have been? (No disrespect to Hayden Christensen intended).
There is a reason guys like Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese keep calling this guy for their films… he’s just that damn good. And early word on The Aviator is that it’s excellent, and some critics are already whispering the word “Oscar”.
Yes, I’ve done my fair share of Leo slamming in the past, but now, a little more grown up, I finally have to admit he’s for real.
