Leonardo DiCaprio in a still from Django Unchained. (Photo: Columbia Pictures)Titanic, Inception and The Wolf of Wall Street — what do these movies have in common? The very versatile Leonardo DiCaprio, of course. Leonardo began his career as an actor over two decades ago, in 1991 with a lesser-known film called Critters 3. He then went on to star in numerous well-received movies, thereby cementing his status as the new Hollywood superstar.
On his 46th birthday, we take a look at some of his best work. And though it was quite difficult to choose from a five-star filmography such as his, we have narrowed it down to these five films.
Catch Me If You Can
Steven Spielberg’s con-drama was a runaway success, thanks to his fine direction and an equally able cast — Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Walken and Martin Sheen. Based on the life of a genius teen con Frank Abagnale, Catch Me If You Can was the perfect platform to showcase Leo’s charm, charisma and his acting chops. He not only looked the part, but was also able to keep up with his senior co-star, Hanks, in every frame of the movie.
Catch Me If You Can is available to stream on Netflix.
The Departed
Four years after Catch Me If You Can, Leonardo DiCaprio turned in a scintillating act in Martin Scorsese’s sensational mob drama The Departed. Leo played an undercover police agent doubling as a small-time criminal who does his best to get close to crime kingpin Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). The Departed was the perfect ensemble movie where every one of the cast members fit in their roles perfectly. Not a hair out of place. Fun fact: Did you know that Brad Pitt served as one of the producers of the film?
You can watch The Departed on Netflix.
Revolutionary Road
The second movie to feature the beloved pair of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet after Titanic, Revolutionary Road is a heartbreaking, complex romantic drama. It has miscarriages, extramarital affairs, job complications — nothing is sweet and nice. And that is the main pull of the movie, that and the incredible chemistry of Leo and Kate. Yes, even after all these years.
Revolutionary Road is streaming on Netflix.
Shutter Island
Another collaboration of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island is a psychological thriller. It has no jump scares, no predictable turn (not at least in the beginning) and a great, twisty ending which people talk about to this day. It’s also scary, deeply emotional and sentimental too. And it swings from one emotion to the other with unmatchable ease and grace. I don’t want to get into the plot if you haven’t seen the film yet, not only because that would serve as a spoiler, but also because it’s hard to explain Shutter Island’s narrative in a single sentence.
Watch Shutter Island on YouTube.
Django Unchained
Django Unchained marked the beginning of a fruitful professional relationship between Leonardo DiCaprio and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. They later went on to work together in the acclaimed Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. As an awful white man who liked keeping slaves, DiCaprio’s plantation owner Calvin Candie was bold, fickle and positively infuriating. His turn as the ‘villain’ was horrendous in the best possible manner. Despite sharing screen space with some of the best actors of our time, DiCaprio completely stole the show.
Django Unchained is streaming on YouTube.