Physical transformation? Check! Quiet breakup with supermodel arm-candy? Check! Personal yet political Golden Globes speech? Check!
Ian Gavan
Leonardo DiCaprio at the EE British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Opera House on February 14, 2016 in London, England. )
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Best Actor Oscar campaign for his role in The Revenant has ticked all of the right boxes. And why shouldn’t it? The 41-year-old has had plenty of practice.
Let’s revisit those brave-faced times that Oscar broke DiCaprio’s heart.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)
The Role: A 19-year-old DiCaprio scored his first nomination in this supporting role as Johnny Depp’s developmentally delayed younger brother.
The Winner: DiCaprio received an early lesson in the academy’s tradition of dues-paying when Tommy Lee Jones won his first and (so far) only Oscar for playing the U.S. marshal who doggedly tracks Harrison Ford’s wrongfully accused escaped convict in The Fugitive.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes in a scene from Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator."
The Role: After nomination near-misses for Titanic and Catch Me If You Can, DiCaprio’s leading role as the grand, eccentric Howard Hughes in this Old Hollywood biopic proved irresistible Oscar bait.
The Winner: DiCaprio went up against another resurrected showbiz legend, Jamie Foxx’s Ray Charles. Foxx channelled the performer’s movements, musicality and mindset so authentically his eventual win was a slam-dunk.
Jaap Buitendijk
Leonardo DiCaprio as Danny Archer in "Blood Diamond."
The Role: Speaking with a curious Rhodesian accent (present-day Zimbabwe and Zambia), his role as a diamond smuggler was nominated, if overshadowed by his co-star Djimon Hounsou.
The Winner: Forest Whitaker’s furious performance as Ugandan president Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland was a commanding win over DiCaprio.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in THE WOLF OF WALL STREET.
The Role: Are those two decades of campaigning paying off yet? There was momentum for DiCaprio to win for playing the swaggering, hard-partying Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort.
The Winner: In the end, the power of the McConaissance proved unstoppable as Matthew McConaughey won for playing an antiretroviral Robin Hood in TheDallas Buyers Club. It didn’t help that McConaughey had a scene-stealing role with DiCaprio in Wolf.
