Leonardo DiCaprio, arguably one of the best actors in Hollywood history, has worked in the business since the early 1990s, appearing in some of the most important movies of all time. There isn’t a single character he doesn’t fit, from his leading role in Martin Scorsese’s groundbreaking movie The Wolf of Wall Street to his Academy Award-winning performance in The Revenant.
DiCaprio is particularly committed to environmentalism outside of acting; he started a nonprofit organization that frequently donates to charity and has even created a number of environmental documentaries. He is one of the celebrities who supports the fight against climate change the most. Here are some of the lesser-known facts about Leonardo DiCaprio you might not know
10 Interesting Facts about Leonardo DiCaprio that you might not know
1. His name made it challenging for him to get roles.
Despite the heartwarming origins of his name, DiCaprio was actually encouraged to change it because it made it harder for him to get roles. The actor reportedly attended 100 auditions before landing just one role, which nearly caused him to give up acting in the 1980s. He even received advice from an agency to change his “foreign-sounding” name to one that was more American in order to better connect with American audiences. We’re very grateful that he persisted in acting and did not give up or change his identity because this allowed him to eventually land a plethora of memorable parts.
2. He was named after the Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci.
Given that he is named after the well-known Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci, the meaning of Leonardo DiCaprio’s name is particularly intriguing. His mother named him after a memorable moment when she felt her baby kick for the first time while viewing a Da Vinci painting at the Uffizi Museum in Florence during a trip to Italy.
3. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape earned him his first nomination for an Academy Award.
It was a running Internet joke that Leonardo DiCaprio was a constant Academy Award loser because he had been nominated for five awards and had won none of them until his 2016 Oscar victory for The Revenant. His first nomination came in 1993 for his critically lauded performance in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, for which he was also nominated for a Golden Globe.
4. According to his dating history, he has never been with a lady older than 25.
He doesn’t seem troubled by the age difference he has with his partners even now, at the age of 48. He has been seeing Camila Morrone, who is 23 years younger than him, for the past 4 years. However, he has dated women far younger than this before.
Additionally, he dated a number of women under the age of 25, including Nina Agdal, Kelly Rohrbach, Toni Garrn, Erin Heatherton, Blake Lively, Bar Refaeli, Gisele Bündchen, and others.
5. Some nations had a restriction on his haircut.
Following Titanic’s phenomenal success, “Leo-mania” spread all over the world. It got to the point where his recognizable hairdo was outlawed in nations like Afghanistan because they didn’t want to be connected in any way to the movie.
6. He once won the “Worst Actor” Award
Leo is well-known for being one of history’s finest performers, but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, he once won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor in 2001 for his work in the critically panned film The Beach.
7. All his life, Leonardo DiCaprio has battled obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Although the actor is far from flawless, we appreciate hearing a Hollywood veteran speak so openly about mental health. The well-known celebrity apparently struggles from OCD. He acknowledged that he stepped on gum and rearrange hotel furniture compulsively, but over the years, he has deliberately fought to overcome the habit.
In actuality, it was what enabled him to relate to the part of Howard Hughes in The Aviator. “At some point, I can tell them, “OK, you’re being silly, stop stepping on every gum stain you see. You are not required to do that. You can place your foot on that object without having to move 20 feet back. Nothing negative will occur,'” DiCaprio assured the Daily Mirror.
8. While filming Titanic Kate Winslet flashed him
Kate Winslet, who played his love interest in Titanic, made the decision to flash him during the production since she knew she would eventually have to strip naked in front of him. This strategy was a great success because the two have gone on to have a good, lasting friendship.
9. Leo’s career began with TV commercials.
Are you curious how Leo ultimately entered the Hollywood industry? He entered Hollywood after his TV failure by participating in a lot of TV advertisements in the 1980s. His first one was for a set of track and cars for kids.
Within a short period of time, the budding actor “attracted the attention of producers, who cast him in small roles in a variety of television programs, such as Roseanne (1988) and The New Lassie (1989)”. Leonardo finally made his feature debut in 1991 with Critters 3 before getting his big break on Growing Pains.
10. Leonardo never done drugs
The actor does use e-cigarettes, but he has never used drugs. DiCaprio said that despite being around drugs since he was three or four years old, he has never used drugs while working in Hollywood. In reality, he and Jonah Hill viewed YouTube videos to acquire ideas for the intoxicated moments when filming The Wolf of Wall Street. He also spoke with an on-set drug specialist