Leonardo DiCaprio’s 5 Best Performances

His accolades include 1 Oscar, 3 Golden Globes and 1 Screen Actors Guild Award

Leonardo DiCaprio’s career has taken him from being a gifted child actor to being one of the most recognised and respected actors around the globe. He the ability to play the lovable heartthrob one minute and the despicable antagonist the next. This 46 year-old has proven to be one the greats for his generation.

With such a broad range, how could we possibly choose a top 5? We at ScreenHeads banged our heads together and came out with the performances we believe make DiCaprio worthy of his stardom.

5. Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997)

One of the actors first big parts was in the romantic drama based around the events of one of history’s biggest tragedies. Directed by James Cameron, DiCaprio plays a young artist who falls for an upper class girl played by of course by Kate Winslet. Their love story unravelling during the days before the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

DiCaprio beat out a long list of now well-known names for the role. This includes Batman & Robin‘s Chris O’Donnell, Interstellar‘s Matthew McConaughey and Watchmen‘s Billy Crudup.

4. Rick Dalton in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

This Quentin Tarantino-directed period piece throws DiCaprio into one of his most comedic roles to date. He portrays fictional actor Rick Dalton in the backdrop of the 1960’s LA. Throughout, Dalton works to ensure that his stardom doesn’t fade thanks to his waining career.

With a twist on the Sharon Tate murder at the hands of the Manson Family and high-profile co-stars such as Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, DiCaprio has a lot to play with to make for an entertaining performance.

The star proved to play Dalton perfectly but some of the tasks took some getting used to. In fact, the flashback scene where Dalton uses a flamethrower and he recoils at the heat was DiCaprio’s genuine reaction. Tarantino found it so funny that he kept it in the final cut.

Related Article: Robin Williams’ 5 Best Performances

3. Frank William Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me if You Can (2002)

Stephen Spielberg’s biopic on the young man who conned his way through passing off as an airline pilot, a doctor and a lawyer. We get a heartfelt from a still-young DiCaprio and he holds his own well against Tom Hanks’ FBI agent who is tasked with catching him.

The real Abagnale Jr. didn’t believe the star was suave enough to portray him. However, his opinion changed once he had seen the finished product.

2. “Monsieur” Calvin J. Candie in Django Unchained (2012)

DiCaprio’s first collaboration with Tarantino. Monsieur Candie is a charming yet dangerous individual with the tiniest level of respect for slaves. Though he appears only in the back half of the story, he is formidable enough to be deemed the overarching villain.

The actor famously shown off his acting chops in his characters massive rant scene. Candie smashes his hand down on the table and in doing so the actor cuts his hand. DiCaprio keeps going and acts with it in style. A true professional, right?

1. Jordan Belford in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

A masterstroke bringing together Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio for this biopic on one of the most outlandish people to walk the earth. DiCaprio stars as stock broker Jordan Belfort which shows the character enjoying overwhelming wealth, womanising and a lot of drugs. This is a character unlike anything DiCaprio has played and its a far cry from anything you would expect him to step into.

Of the various sex scenes, drug scenes and improvisation the star tackled throughout filming, something else proved to be the most nerve-wrecking for him: Joanne Lumley. It DiCaprio a reported 27 takes to get his kissing scene with the acting legend right.

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Disagree with any of our choices? Believe there are other roles more deserving of the top 5? Let us know all in the comment section below!