Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the defining actors of our time and has been consistently delivering excellent performances since the 1990s. Whether he was swooning audiences as a young heartthrob in unprecedented box office hits or pushing the boundaries of his cinematic persona in gritty crime dramas, DiCaprio stands out as one of the last remaining true movie stars.
Having worked with some of the best directors of all time, DiCaprio’s output has made him a global star, as viewers turn out time and again to watch him team up with Martin Scorsese and other prestige filmmakers. There’s a strong argument that DiCaprio has never made a bad movie, but in each decade, there’s one role that stands above the rest.
Titanic (1997)
Leonardo DiCaprio is truly one of the defining actors of the 1990s, but this wouldn’t be the case without James Cameron’s Titanic. As the highest-grossing film in the world at the time, this movie catapulted DiCaprio into worldwide superstardom and made him a cultural icon for the ages.
While DiCaprio has already been nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, his role as Jack Dawson was where his reputation shifted from a talented young actor to an A-list heartthrob. With action, romance, and grand spectacle, Titanic truly had it all and remains the benchmark by which all future disaster movies would be judged.
For those who weren’t around at the time, it’s hard to overstate what a cultural phenomenon Titanic was at the time, as DiCaprio and co-star Kate Winslet’s innate chemistry connected with audiences on a deep level. Cameron too pushed the boundaries of CGI technology as he accomplished a groundbreaking piece that still holds up today.
Although some DiCaprio fans argue for his powerful portrayal of the young addict Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries or his take on Shakespeare in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, in terms of sheer cultural impact, Titanic comes out on top. DiCaprio had a great career in the subsequent decades, but it would have looked very different if not for Titanic.
The Departed (2006)
The 2000s were the decade when DiCaprio fully realized he had the clout to work with any director he wanted, and he used it wisely. Working with esteemed filmmakers like Danny Boyle, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, and Clint Eastwood, this was an era when he became intrinsically tied to one name in particular: Martin Scorsese.
While the pair first worked together on Gangs of New York, The Departed stands as their best work in the 2000s. As a Best Picture winner that at last gave Scorsese his flowers after four decades in the industry, this was an epic work that could stand proud alongside his other classics like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas.
As a loose remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, DiCaprio played Billy Costigan, an undercover cop infiltrating the Boston mob in a paranoia-drenched thriller of deceit and distrust. With a stacked cast including Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, and Mark Wahlberg, everyone delivered top-tier performances and was working at the top of their game.
The Departed marks a turning point in DiCaprio’s career, as it shifted his cinematic persona from a handsome young heartthrob into something more mature, as he proved he was capable of delivering dark and gritty performances. Scorsese discovered something in DiCaprio nobody else had, and it’s no surprise they continued to push these boundaries in subsequent decades.
The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)
Leonardo DiCaprio absolutely tore apart his cinematic persona with the role of Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street. As a stockbroker whose career was characterized by fraud and corruption, DiCaprio leaned into the hedonism of modern life in an extremely profane and sexually explicit dark comedy that showed off his funny side like never before.
The Wolf of Wall Street deconstructed the soullessness of capitalism, where everyone’s out for themselves and lying, cheating, and destoying oneself in the pursuit of status is almost treated as noble. However, those who think the film glorifies Belfort have missed the point, as DiCaprio’s performance showcases a deeply hollow man trying to fill the gaps in his corrupted psychology.
The 2010s were a peak era for DiCaprio with Inception, Django Unchained, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but The Wolf of Wall Street showcased his most fearless performance. Unleashing raw charisma, he fully let loose and was elevated further by incredible supporting turns from Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie.
Considering this, it feels a little underwhelming that DiCaprio ultimately won an Academy Award for The Revenant, a role that, while committed, has not had nearly the same impact. The Wolf of Wall Street pushed DiCaprio and Scorsese’s partnership to unseen levels of excess and proved just how daring this dynamic duo truly is.
One Battle After Another (2025)
We’ve only seen three acting performances from DiCaprio this decade, and each was fascinating in its own way. Whether it was the satirical bite of Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up or delivering yet another exceptional performance for Scorsese as Ernest Burkhart in Killers of the Flower Moon, DiCaprio clearly has retained his status as one of our greatest working actors.
However, One Battle After Another stands out as a particularly important DiCaprio movie, as he finally worked with Paul Thomas Anderson on what just might be the best film of 2025. With DiCaprio as an ex-revolutionary on a quest to save his daughter, the film hooks you in from minute one and doesn’t let up for its entire 162-minute runtime.
DiCaprio perfectly balanced drama and comedy in a role that stands out as one of his simultaneously funniest and most sentimental performances. As an epic father-daughter story, DiCaprio brought heart and humor to an action-packed adventure that proves grandiose, original cinema is far from dead.
With DiCaprio delivering an excellent performance, this was also an ensemble piece that featured Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, and newcomer Chase Infiniti, all contributing to its awe-inspiring impact. One Battle After Another earned Leonardo DiCaprio his eighth Oscar nomination, and his excellent work on the film keeps us excited for what he might achieve in the decades to come.
- Birthdate
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November 11, 1974
- Birthplace
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Los Angeles, California, USA
