Leonardo DiCaprio still reigns as one of Hollywood’s top actors. After over twenty years he has created one of the most impressive careers in decades. His profound performances and inventive approach to characters bring thoughtful realism and detail. Looking into his career as an actor, it is clear why he is so beloved by audiences around the world. Below is the list of the top 5 Leonardo DiCaprio movies.
Direct to Success
DiCaprio’s ability to hand-select projects stems from the success of Titanic. This afforded him the opportunity to pass on most projects and only focus on the roles he really wanted. This also made way for selecting films based on directors.
His relationship with Martin Scorsese became the most well-known after working on 5 films together, with another in the works. This relationship also positioned Scorsese to be his greatest teacher about the history of cinema and sharing the value of great cinematic art. He also worked twice with Quinten Tarintino and Baz Luhrman. Other major directors he worked with include Clint Eastwood, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Christopher Nolan.
It is worth noting though, he has yet to work with a female director where he is the lead or major supporting character.
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Real People
Also, the Best Actor winner also elects to play real people. The majority of top actors express how hard it is to reach the expectations an audience may have to portray someone from history. Further, the families or even the person themselves may see the final film.
DiCaprio rises to the occasion and works in great detail and nuance to find the truth of the character in the script, worrying less about the accuracy of the history. DiCaprio doesn’t look much like Howard Hughes, but his Oscar-nominated performance showcased the essence of Hughes as it pertained to the story and greatly impacted the understanding of this historical figure.
Top 5 Movies
With all this thoughtfulness about his career, Leonardo Dicaprio has a strong Rotten Tomatoes profile. On this list, we are ranking based the top 5 Leonardo DiCaprio films based on total critics score for films where he appeared as an actor. His scores work as a producer is not represented on this list.
Catch Me If You Can
Critics Score – 96%
Audience Score – 89%
Synopsis – Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) worked as a doctor, a lawyer, and as a co-pilot for a major airline — all before his 18th birthday. A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, whose skill gave him his first real claim to fame: At the age of 17, Frank Abagnale, Jr. became the most successful bank robber in the history of the U.S. FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) makes it his prime mission to capture Frank and bring him to justice, but Frank is always one step ahead of him.
The Departed
Critics Score – 91%
Audience Score – 94%
Synopsis –South Boston cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes undercover to infiltrate the organization of gangland chief Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). As Billy gains the mobster’s trust, a career criminal named Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) infiltrates the police department and reports on its activities to his syndicate bosses. When both organizations learn they have a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin must figure out each other’s identities to save their own lives.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
Critics Score – 90%
Audience Score – 89%
Synopsis – Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother (Darlene Cates), who is so overweight that she can’t leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio), who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen), Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky (Juliette Lewis).
Titanic
Critics Score – 89%
Audience Score – 69%
Synopsis –James Cameron’s “Titanic” is an epic, action-packed romance set against the ill-fated maiden voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic; the pride and joy of the White Star Line and, at the time, the largest moving object ever built. She was the most luxurious liner of her era — the “ship of dreams” — which ultimately carried over 1,500 people to their death in the ice-cold waters of the North Atlantic in the early hours of April 15, 1912.
Django Unchained
Critics Score – 87%
Audience Score – 91%
Synopsis – Two years before the Civil War, Django (Jamie Foxx), a slave, finds himself accompanying an unorthodox German bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) on a mission to capture the vicious Brittle brothers. Their mission successful, Schultz frees Django, and together they hunt the South’s most-wanted criminals. Their travels take them to the infamous plantation of shady Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), where Django’s long-lost wife (Kerry Washington) is still a slave.
Awards Total
1 Best Actor win (The Revenant)
3 Golden Globe wins (The Aviator, The Wolf of Wall Street, The Revenant)
6 Oscar nominations (5 Lead Actor, 1 Supporting)
9 Films nominated for Best Picture
5 BAFTA nominations (1 win)
12 Golden Globe nominations
10 SAG Award nominations (1 win)
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