Leonardo DiCaprio Biography
This tall, slender, boyishly handsome young actor proved engaging in TV family sitcoms ("Parenthood", "Growing Pains") and endured a cheapie horror sequel ("Critters 3" 1991) before triumphing over 400 others to win the role of Tobias Wolff in "This Boy's Life" (1993) after a four-month casting search. Based on Wolff's award-winning autobiographical novel, the film depicted a boy's coming-of-age in the 1950s in an explosive domestic situation. The film also starred Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin, but young DiCaprio walked away with the strongest notices. While the film fizzled at the box office, this boy's career was off and running.
DiCaprio was next cast alongside Johnny Depp in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" (1993), Lasse Halstrom's evocative version of Peter Hedges' coming-of-age novel. The good looks of the green-eyed blond nearly lost him the part of the sloppy-looking Arnie, Gilbert's mentally challenged but cheerful younger brother. The 19-year-old actor again snared the best reviews as well as a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his performance.
DiCaprio lost out to Christian Slater in his effort to land the small but essential role of the "boy" reporter in "Interview With the Vampire" (1994). He tried his hand at another exceedingly stylish genre film with a supporting role opposite Sharon Stone in Sam Raimi's delirious meta-Western "The Quick and the Dead" (1995). DiCaprio brought verve and cynicism to his portrayal of the Kid, a cocksure young gunslinger who may be the son of baddie Gene Hackman. He veered back to the margins to star in the long-awaited (and profoundly disappointing) adaptation of "The Basketball Diaries" (also 1995), Jim Carroll's gritty memoirs of a youth that incorporated good grades, local basketball stardom and heroin addiction. DiCaprio won praise for his highly emotional performance but the film was deemed aimless, shallow and routine.