Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (aka, the Noodle!) was destined from the beginning to be a wild and
spirited boy. He received his first name after swiftly kicking his mother from her
womb as she admired a Leonardo DaVinci painting in the Uffizi. He was born in
Los Angeles, CA on the eleventh of November of 1974 to George and Irmalin
DiCaprio. Leo was an only child (though he does have a stepbrother named
Adam), and his parents divorced each other within a year after his birth.
His mother is German and his father is Italian, and their backgrounds had a
major influence on his upbringing. His father produces underground comic books
and comic arts out of his garage. His mother was a legal secretary (before she
began managing Leo's affairs.) They might be best described as liberal, pot-smoking
hippies: "Whatever I did would be something they'd already done. I mean, my dad
would welcome it if I got a nose ring." He remembers such household guests as
comic-book artist Robert Crumb, writer Charles Bukowski, and novelist Hubert
Selby, Jr. visiting as a child. "We're not the hippie family who only eats organic and
the children meditate and go to a school of the arts. But we're not apple-pie and
Republican, either."
Leo was educated at the Center for Enriched Studies and John Marshall High
School, both in LA. He often cheated in school (especially in math), and seemed
more interested in entertaining his classmates than in doing his homework. "School, I
never truly got the knack of. I could never focus on things I didn't want to learn. I
used to, like, take half of the school and do break-dancing skits with my friend in
front of them at lunchtime."
But his troubles concentrating in school didn't stifle his acting dreams. Leo's
acting debut was on the television show Romper Room, at age five. Booted from
the set because of his uncontrollable behavior, it would be eleven years until he
would land a big-screen role. At age ten, on the way home from a casting call
where he had just been callously rejected, he cried to his father, "Dad, I really want
to become an actor, but if this is what it's all about I don't want to do it." Leo recalls
his father put his arm around him and said, "Someday, Leonardo, it will happen for
you. Remember these words. Just relax."
When searching for an agent Leo was further discouraged by the
commercialism of the industry, exemplified by an attempt from one agent to alter his
"wrong" haircut and change his ethnic-sounding name to Lenny Williams. He was
finally signed at the age of fourteen, and struggled to break into the movie industry
through obscure commercials and educational films such as "How to Deal With a
Parent Who Takes Drugs" and "Mickey's Safety Club." He took part in over thirty
commercials in all, and eventually procured guest appearances on such television
shows as Lassie, The Outsiders, Roseanne, and Parenthood. Though he was cast
in his first movie in 1991, Leo would rather forget his minor and embarassing
contribution to Critters III altogether. At sixteen, he finally landed a successful,
regular role as a homeless boy in the teen sitcom Growing Pains that lasted for two
years (24-episodes). Though only a small part, Leo's performance proved he had
great potential; he easily outshined the rest of the cast.
His big break was undoubtedly his leading role as Tobias Wolff in This Boy's
Life. Though Leo's natural, brilliant performance in this "coming of age" movie didn't
hit home at the box office, he gained instant recognition as a talented rising actor.
Leo received a few prestigious awards for his performance (see below) and herein
began his rise to fame.
Now given the opportunity to be picky about his roles, Leo chooses them
carefully. He welcomes help from his father in sifting through the facile, mainstream
roles most actors gleefully accept. Leo has turned down such commercially popular
roles as Robin in Batman Forever, and continues to look for the more challenging
"dark roles." "I want to take my time with each role and that's how you plan a long
career rather than doing it all at once in a big explosion. I turned down a lot of
movies about death and a few cheesy little comedies as well."
Leo is a favorite of many professional and amateur critics because of his
unique ability to play the "boy/man" border with such ease and natural spontaneity.
Though 23, Leo's boyish looks allow him to apply his learned experience and charm
to younger roles that many of his immature competitors cannot handle. "The best
thing about acting is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get
paid for it. It's a great outlet. As for myself, I'm not sure who I am. It seems that I
change every day."
This biography was "borrowed" from the Dicaprio.com website. Please see our links to visit it.
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people have cared about Leo's life since Dec. 26/97.