I Love Leonardo DiCaprio

The range of emotions that Leonardo as an actor can deliver is only limited by our imagination. My proof is that I have seen Blood Diamonds thrice and every time, Leonardo DiCaprio pushes me to the depths of my own unexpressed pain, taking me to that place in my soul where the ache reside, suddenly roused, begging for expression. This happens particularly in that scene where he was talking about his parents... And then the tears :-(

The truth is at first I didn't like him very much. Perhaps, for lack of real opportunity to watch him closely through his films. I didn't even see Titanic, which proved to be a commercial success. But, I first saw him in Catch Me If You Can and then another fan was born. I recall watching This Boy's Life but I guess Robert De Niro's presence was too overpowering that he was barely noticed.

Good thing, Leonardo is one of the best screen performers of our time. (aside from Johnny Depp, of course) :-) (Please do not include Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman, etc. -- age factor you see)

And in case you didn't know here are some interesting facts about Leonardo DiCaprio:

1. He is Scorpio born having been born November 11 on a Tiger year, 1974, in Los Angeles, California.
2. His father is half Italian, half-German and his Mom is German.
3. He is an only child but has a step brother.
4. He is best friend to Toby Maguire whom he met in 1989 on the TV film Parenthood.
5. His film debut was Critters 3 shown in 1991.
6. He has co-starred with lots of great actors and actresses like Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin in This Boy’s Life; Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone and Russel Crowe in The Quick and the Dead; Claire Danes in Romeo and Juliet, in 1986; Meryl Streep and Dianne Keaton in Marvin’s Room; Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates in The Titanic.
7. His first Academy Award nomination was with What’s Eating Gilbert Grape at age 19.
8. He starred in Total Eclipse, a film about a passionate and violent homosexual relationship between two 19th century French poets. The role was originally cast for River Phoenix but he died.
9. In 2006, Leonardo was nominated Best Actor twice in the same category by the Golden Globes for the films, The Departed and Blood Diamond, Screen Actors Guild Awards nomination for Best Actor in Blood Diamond and Best Supporting Actor The Departed; lead actor award nomination from BAFTA for the film The Departed, and of course a best actor nomination for The Departed from the OSCARS.
10. Listed by TIME Magazine as one of the world’s 100 Most Influential Persons.
11. His advocacy is environment protection and believes that global warming is “"the number one environmental challenge."
12. His most famous films are Gangs of New York, directed by Martin Scorsese; Catch Me If You Can, directed Steven Spielberg and The Aviator, also directed by Martin Scorsese, where he received his 2nd Best Actor Academy Award Nomination.
13. He is currently in a relationship with a Jewish born model.

The Future: Leonardo DiCaprio is slated to appear in the following film productions:

1. Enron based on the book Conspiracy of Fools from Warner Brothers. Everyone knows what this is all about.
2. He might star in The Chancelor Manuscript from the novel of Robert Ludlum.
3. Also, Blink a biopic of Stephen Gaghan.
4. Shutter Island and The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt in collaboration with Martin Scorsese.
5. Currently filming Body of Lies also slated to be shown 2008.
6. Finished filming Revolutionary Road with Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates and directed by Winslet’s husband, Sam Mendes, scheduled to be released December, 2008.
7. Slated to star with Mark Wahlberg in Cocaine Cowboys, a story remake of drug lord, Jon Roberts.

The full story from Wikipedia here.