Leonardo DiCaprio, an actor who needs no introduction, is one of the most natural and effortless actors that this generation has seen till date.
Leonardo DiCaprio, an actor who needs no introduction, is one of the most natural and effortless actors that this generation has seen till date. From appearing in TV commercials in his teens to becoming a mainstream and bankable star, Leonardo has indeed come a long way.
With a number breathtaking performances delivered on the merit of his wide range of acting skills, Leonardo has essayed a huge variety of myriad roles from different genres winning him critical acclaim and some of the highest recognitions to his name.
A 20-year-old Jack Dawson in Titanic, a mentally handicapped brother Arnie Grape in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Howard Hughes in The Aviator, Billy Costigan in The Departed, Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby, Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street, Danny Archer in Blood Diamond, Dominick Cobb in The Inception to name a few, are roles that made Leonardo walk straight into our hearts.
But even with tremendous amount of hard work, numerous nominations, bagging several awards and several blockbuster movies to his nane, Leonardo Dicaprio remains what one could call an Oscar virgin, always falling one step short from winning the coveted Academy Award.
In his acting career spanning over two decades, Leonardo, so far, has been nominated for Oscars six times, including the current year in the category of Best Actor for The Revenant and many feel it’s about time that Leo gets his due.
The actor has already bagged the Golden Globe award and BAFTA award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Hugh Glass in The Revenant (2015). At the Oscars, Leonardo has been pitted against the likes of Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon, Michael Fassbender and last year’s winner Eddie Redmayne this year.
While Leonardo’s The Revenant is leading the 2016 Oscars nominations, we take a look at the actor’s previous big win near misses.
Best Supporting Actor – What’s The Gilbert Grape (1993).
A still from What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
This was Leonardo’s first Oscar nomination. He was nominated for both Academy Awards and Golden Globes for the Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Arnie Grape, a mentally disabled brother of Johnny Depp’s character in What’s The Gilbert Grape. His realistic performance in the film earned him a nomination but the actor failed to bag the winning trophy as Tommy Lee Jones walked away with the prize.
Best Actor – The Aviator (2004).
A still from The Aviator.
After a long wait of more than a decade, Leonardo was nominated in the category of Best Actor for his portrayal of the eccentric and obsessive American film director and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes in the biopic, The Aviator. He was nominated for Academy Awards, BAFTA awards and Critics’ Choice Movie Award and also won Golden Globe Award in the same category. Despite getting several recognitions, the Oscars waved him a bitter goodbye and went straight to Jamie Foxx.
Best Actor – Blood Diamond (2006).
A still from Blood Diamond.
Leonardo starred in Edward Zwick’s war drama Blood Diamond as a diamond smuggler and was praised for the authenticity of his South African accent. The role once again earned him an Academy Awards nomination in the Best Actor category. Leonardo DiCaprio was just an inch away from bagging the coveted award but this time it was Forest Whitaker who took the top honours.
Best Actor and Best Picture (as a producer) – The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).
A still from The Wolf of Wall Street.
After a wait of over six years, Leonardo reunited with Martin Scorsese for the fifth time and found himself playing the role of a stockbroker Jordan Belfort which earned him the Golden Globe award for the Best Actor. He also co-produced the film and got several Academy Award nominations for the film including Best Actor and Best Picture. But this time also the losing spree continued and he was left just as a nominee at the Oscars.
Best Actor – The Revenant (2015).
A still from The Revenant.
This might be the year of Leonardo DiCaprio as he has already grabbed the Golden Globe and BAFTA Awards for the first time in the Best Actor category beating his rivals Bryan Cranston for Trumbo, Matt Damon for The Martian, Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs and Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl.
DiCaprio has been nominated for his role of bear battling fur trapper Hugh Glass in the film and he might taste the joy of winning an Oscar for the first time.
Will Leonardo be able to walk away with Best Actor Oscars trophy? Or will the prestigious award elude him yet again? Only time will tell. What, however, we can tell is that Oscar or not, Leo will remain one of the greatest actors to have emerged from Hollywood.
