50 Fun Facts About Leonardo DiCaprio

In which city was Leonardo DiCaprio born in 1974?

He grew up in Echo Park and Los Feliz, where his divorced parents lived in twin cottages with a shared garden so they could raise him together.

DiCaprio's mother Irmelin was a legal secretary from which country?

Her father Wilhelm was German and her mother Helene a Russian immigrant; the Italian side of the family comes from his father George's paternal grandparents.

His mother first felt him kick while looking at a da Vinci painting in which museum?

That Florence gallery visit is why he is called Leonardo; his middle name, Wilhelm, comes from his German grandfather.

An early agent wanted DiCaprio to adopt which more 'American' stage name?

He refused, then went jobless for a year and a half through about 100 auditions before his father talked him out of quitting.

At age 11, DiCaprio nearly quit acting to pursue which hobby?

He had just placed second in a competition in his mother's homeland. As a child his other career plan was marine biology.

Which toy brand's commercials does DiCaprio describe as his first role?

He was 14. He also sold Kraft Singles, Bubble Yum and Apple Jacks, and later landed about 20 commercials through a family connection.

On which sitcom did DiCaprio play Luke Brower, a homeless boy taken in by the family?

He was brought in to attract young female viewers, did not lift the ratings, and left before the show ended; co-star Joanna Kerns remembered him teasing everyone on set.

DiCaprio made his film debut in 1991 in which low-budget horror sequel?

He has called it possibly one of the worst films of all time and described his part as a no-depth standard kid with blond hair.

Which actor handpicked DiCaprio from 400 hopefuls to co-star in This Boy's Life?

The 1993 film adapts Tobias Wolff's memoir, with Ellen Barkin as the mother and the older star as the abusive stepfather. Director Michael Caton-Jones had to mentor the teenager on set manners.

Which 1993 film earned the 19-year-old DiCaprio his first Oscar nomination?

He played Johnny Depp's developmentally disabled brother Arnie and became the seventh-youngest nominee ever in the supporting actor category.

Sharon Stone paid DiCaprio's salary herself on which 1995 Sam Raimi western?

Sony had gone cold on the casting. The film flopped and drew mixed reviews, but it put him opposite Gene Hackman and Russell Crowe.

In Total Eclipse DiCaprio played Arthur Rimbaud; who played Paul Verlaine?

He inherited the part after River Phoenix died. A San Francisco Chronicle critic winced at his Southern California twang next to Thewlis's cultivated British accent.

Who played Juliet opposite DiCaprio in the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet?

He was wary of another Shakespeare adaptation until his father nudged him to look harder at the director's work; a two-week workshop sealed it.

Romeo + Juliet won DiCaprio a Silver Bear for Best Actor at which film festival?

It was 1997. Film scholar Murray Pomerance credits his new popularity with making the film profitable within days of release.

In Marvin's Room (1996), DiCaprio played Hank, the troubled son of which actress's character?

The film reunites two estranged sisters through tragedy; Keaton played the other sister. Entertainment Weekly said the young actor held his own against both veterans.

Which 1997 film did DiCaprio turn down in order to make Titanic?

In 2025 he said he regretted it, calling it a profound movie of his generation. James Cameron had to talk him past his doubts about the Titanic part.

How many Academy Awards did Titanic win?

A record haul, but no acting nomination for its male lead; more than 200 fans staged a protest against the Academy over the snub.

In which 1998 film did DiCaprio play both King Louis XIV and his secret twin?

Randall Wallace's swashbuckler took $180 million on a $35 million budget; Owen Gleiberman called him an actor with the face of a mischievous angel who looked too young for the part.

Playing twins in a 1998 film earned DiCaprio a Golden Raspberry in which category?

He was paired with himself. Two years later The Beach brought a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor.

DiCaprio left an early version of American Psycho after disagreements with which director?

His reported fee had been $20 million. He took The Beach instead, where his character joins a secret island commune in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Beach (2000) was adapted from a 1996 novel by which author?

The $50 million film tripled its budget but was panned, and the production was criticised for damaging its Thai location, which the star later helped restore.

DiCaprio says he was rejected for Moulin Rouge! (2001) because of his poor what?

He auditioned right after shooting The Beach; Ewan McGregor got the part of Christian.

DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire blocked the US release of which improvised black-and-white film?

They had done it as a short as a favour to a friend; when it was stretched to feature length to cash in on their fame, a court order kept it out of the US and Canada.

Which Star Wars prequel role did DiCaprio turn down?

He said he did not feel ready to take that dive; Hayden Christensen played the part in Attack of the Clones (2002).

Catch Me If You Can is based on the life of which real con artist?

He ran cheque fraud worth millions before he turned 19. The film took $355 million and was for years his second-biggest hit after Titanic.

Catch Me If You Can was shot across 147 locations in how many days?

Spielberg's pace made it, in DiCaprio's words, the most adventurous, super-charged movie-making he had experienced.

What is the name of DiCaprio's Irish-American gang leader in Gangs of New York?

Set in the Five Points in the mid-1800s, the eight-month shoot cost $103 million, then the most expensive film Scorsese had made. Daniel Day-Lewis played Bill the Butcher.

DiCaprio's production company, founded in 2004, is named after what?

Appian Way's first executive-produced film was The Assassination of Richard Nixon with Sean Penn, screened at Cannes in 2004.

DiCaprio first developed The Aviator with which director before Scorsese took over?

The Howard Hughes biopic grossed $213 million on a $110 million budget and won him his first Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama.

How much muscle did DiCaprio gain to play undercover trooper Billy Costigan in The Departed?

He also visited Boston to meet people connected to the Irish Mob, and described the character as living in a constant 24-hour panic attack.

Warner Bros. submitted his Departed performance for which Oscar category to avoid a clash?

The studio did not want him competing with himself in Blood Diamond. Co-star Mark Wahlberg got the supporting nod instead.

In Blood Diamond, DiCaprio's diamond smuggler comes from which country?

He spent six months in Africa preparing and nailed a South African accent generally considered hard to imitate; the role brought an Oscar nomination.

Which 2007 environmental documentary did DiCaprio produce, co-write and narrate?

It won the Earthwatch Environmental Film Award in 2008; a 2013 art auction named after it raised nearly $38.8 million for his foundation.

Appian Way's series Greensburg followed a tornado-hit town rebuilding sustainably in which state?

It ran three seasons on Planet Green from 2008 to 2010 after the 2007 tornado.

Who directed Revolutionary Road, which reunited DiCaprio with Kate Winslet in 2008?

Winslet, then married to the director, pitched the Richard Yates adaptation to both of them; DiCaprio found the small set claustrophobic.

Shutter Island is based on a 2003 novel by which author?

Playing U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels gave him nightmares of mass murder during production; hanging out with friends was his therapy.

By taking gross points instead of his usual fee, how much did DiCaprio earn from Inception?

He gave up his $20 million fee for a share of first-dollar ticket sales; the $160 million film took $836 million, then his second-biggest.

Who directed DiCaprio as FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in 2011?

Critics found the biopic incoherent but praised the lead; Roger Ebert said he showed sides of Hoover the man himself may not have known.

What is the name of the plantation owner DiCaprio plays in Django Unchained?

He cut his hand on glass mid-scene and kept going; Tarantino used the take. He was uneasy about the script's racism until the cast told him not to soften it.

Who directed DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby in the 2013 adaptation of The Great Gatsby?

Their second collaboration after Romeo + Juliet. The film took $353 million and won him the AACTA Award for Best Actor.

DiCaprio beat which actor in a bidding war for the rights to Jordan Belfort's memoir?

Warner Bros. and DiCaprio won in 2007 over Paramount's bid. The 2008 financial crisis then pushed him to make The Wolf of Wall Street.

The Wolf of Wall Street won DiCaprio a Golden Globe for Best Actor in which category?

Film Comment praised his rubber-limbed slapstick. He was also Oscar-nominated twice for the film, as actor and as a producer for Best Picture.

Virunga, which DiCaprio executive-produced, is about people protecting which animals?

The 2014 British documentary earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination; he is also a patron of The Gorilla Organization, continuing Dian Fossey's work.

Which fur trapper did DiCaprio play in The Revenant?

He learned to shoot a musket, build fires and speak Pawnee and Arikara; the role finally won him the Best Actor Oscar.

On The Revenant, DiCaprio ate a raw slab of liver from which animal?

He also slept inside animal carcasses. The $135 million film grossed $533 million.

To help finance Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, DiCaprio cut his fee to how much?

His co-star took the same. Tarantino called the pair the most exciting since Redford and Newman; the film earned $374 million on a $90 million budget.

Who co-starred with DiCaprio as the other astronomer in Don't Look Up?

He spent five months reworking the script with Adam McKay first. The film set a Netflix record of 152 million hours viewed in a single week.

For Killers of the Flower Moon, DiCaprio was first signed to play which character?

He insisted on switching to the murderer Ernest Burkhart, forcing major rewrites. He was paid $30 million for the film.

DiCaprio co-founded which Formula E team in 2013?

With Monegasque businessman Gildo Pallanca Pastor. The team won eight races, finished second in 2021–22 and became Maserati MSG Racing under Stellantis.

Which UN title did Ban Ki-moon give DiCaprio in 2014, with a focus on climate change?

Weeks later he opened the UN Climate Summit with a speech estimated to have reached a billion people.