At 48, Leonardo DiCaprio has a luxury envied in Hollywood: he can choose the projects that he likes the most and he is rarely told no. He will also be back on October 18, 2023 at the cinema in the new feature film by Martin Scorsese Killers of the Flower Moon where he will co-star with Robert DeNiro.
As we talk more and more about this new 3h 54 long opus which will be presented at the Cannes Film Festival, we thought it was the right time to come back to the career of this already legendary actor in 5 roles.
Romeo + Juliette
It is clearly not Leonardo DiCaprio’s film that is mentioned first. The feature film directed by Baz Luhrmann is however founding in the work of the actor. Released in 1997 in France, a year before Titanic, it is here that his talent shines in the eyes of the general public. He embodies Romeo in a revisited version of Shakespeare’s work.
Of course, there is no question of Oscar talk for young Leo yet, but he still gets an honorable nomination at the MTV Movies Awards. For its part, the American press greets DiCaprio and his partner in the film, Claire Danes, who plays Juliet. However, not everyone is convinced and some consider the aesthetics a little too “fake”.
Gangs of New York
With Gangs of New York, Leonardo DiCaprio signs his first collaboration with Martin Scorsese, a filmmaker he will almost never leave. He plays a young Irishman named Amsterdam Vallon, a man who tries to take his revenge on the ruthless gang leader Bill the Butcher, played by the excellent Daniel Day-Lewis.
We dive into the New York of the 19th century where chaos reigns and where the city belongs to the most intrepid (and especially to the most violent). After Titanic, DiCaprio has another golden role in a critically acclaimed film that is nominated ten times for the Oscars. To make matters worse, Martin Scorsese and his team left this ceremony empty-handed in 2003.
Infiltrators
It’s a matter of taste but for me Infiltrators is the best film of Leonardo DiCaprio’s career. Released in 2006, we find once again Martin Scorsese at the maneuver for the American adaptation of the Hong Kong thriller Internal Affairs (which we also advise you to see).
Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Billy Costigan, an undercover cop in Boston’s Irish Mafia. There he meets the cream of Hollywood actors: Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, or even Martin Sheen. This time, Martin Scorsese wins the day and leaves with the Oscar for best film and that of best director.
The wolf of Wall Street
This is the third DiCaprio-Scorsese collab on our list. Released in 2013, shortly after the subprime crisis, this film is well in its time. Leonardo DiCaprio slips into the skin of Jordan Belfort, a trader who existed in the real world and whose rating skyrocketed in the 80s and 90s.
It is a life full of excess and characterized by cheating that is given to us to see. The scenes where Leonardo DiCaprio seems in a trance and harangues his employees have also gone around the web and have now become memes. As usual, the actor gives his all and shows his ability to play a wide variety of roles.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
This is one of our favorites in this list. In this feature film released in 2019, Quentin Tarantino pays homage to Hollywood cinema of the 60s. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Rick Dalton, a star of westerns very clearly on the decline and plagued by alcoholism problems.
His character is particularly touching, and the spectator goes through all his states throughout the 2h40 that the film lasts. We also appreciate his duet with Brad Pitt which works wonderfully. There is a lot of passion in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood and we can only encourage you to watch it, if you haven’t already.
Of course, the list of good films with Leonardo DiCaprio is still long when we think of the last Dont Look Up, Titanic, The Revenant, Inception, Shutter Island or even to Django Unchained, but we wanted to limit our choice to five to force ourselves to decide. For your part, what is his film that has marked you the most? Tell us in the comments.
