LEONARDO DICAPRIO
By Dagmar Dunlevy
Leonardo's show business career began at age ten, when he started auditioning for television commercials. That inspiration came when he saw his stepbrother getting a hefty check for $50,000 just for doing a Golden Grahams cereal spot. In 1981 an agent tried to persuade Leonardo to change his name to "Lenny Williams". That didn't happen and Leonardo continued on his road to success by appearing in dozens of television commercials and finally in Madonna's Open Your Heart video. That opened the door to several educational films, including an acting job in How to Deal With a Parent Who Takes Drugs, guesting on an episode of Roseanne, a recurring role on a short-lived TV version of the movie Parenthood and moved on to the successful series, Growing Pains, playing Luke Brower, a homeless boy who moves in with Alan Thicke's family during the show's last season in 1991-92. By now, Leonardo was already financially secure and used his television earnings to buy a new house for his mother. He lived with her until he was 21 and bought a place of his own just a short distance from her in Los Angeles.
Today, the adoration from his fans around the globe borders on hysteria. "DiCaprio Crying Parties" have become commonplace for teenage girls. They gather around the VCR, pop some popcorn--for those emotionally steady enough to swallow it, bring out the tissue box and rent one of Leo's old movies: Critters 3, ('91) ; Poison Ivy, ('92) ; This Boy's Life, ('93); What's Eating Gilbert Grape, ('93); Foot Shooting Party (short film), ('94); The Quick and the Dead, ('95); The Basketball Diaries, ('95); Total Eclipse, ('95); Romeo and Juliet, ('96) and Marvin's Room, ('96) . Bootleg video copies of Titanic are as valuable as the diamond necklace Rose tossed into the Atlantic Ocean.
This bit of news is guaranteed to bring on tears: After the long and grueling shoot of the epic Titanic, Leo's planning a gigantic rest. The Man in the Iron Mask, his latest film, may be the last we'll see of on-screen Leo for a while.
We talked to the 23-year-old Leonardo about his thoughts on love, romance, fame and the complex characters he picks to play. Open and charming, not to mention his incredible good looks, Leo is easily 6' tall with very long legs. His size 11 foot fidgets impatiently from time to time, as he habitually runs his slender fingers through his lustrous ash blond hair. Leo's eyes are extraordinarily bright and seem to change from gray to blue to green, just like the colors of the sea in times of storm or calmness. Leonardo laughs easily and can't quite get a handle on all the public adoration being showered upon him.
CS: Girls love you and have labeled you a sex symbol around the world. How do you feel about that?
Leonardo DiCaprio: I don't mind it, of course, but I haven't deliberately chosen certain films for that reason. I think there's always going to be sort of a new popular face, not only in film, but everywhere. Those things sort of come and go like anything else. The movies I've done, like Romeo and Juliet and the Titanic, have been love stories--so obviously they're going to get a female audience attracted to you from that, but I've chosen them simply because they've been fantastic stories. Who knows, I may do another love story soon. I just want to take the best possible roles in films in the future and that's what really concerns me.
CS: What appealed to you about playing Jack in Titanic?
LDC: I've not liked huge, gigantic blockbuster action films simply because to me, they've lacked content. But when I saw Titanic, it was a completely different situation. I recognized it as having so many themes for humanity and being such an intricate, interesting story that I didn't want to discriminate against it, just because it was big. I'm extremely glad that I did it. I would definitely do it again. Not to say that doing the movie was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life, but when you go through something like that and you look back on it, it's all the more rewarding in the end. But I knew this was not going to be a walk in the park.
CS: But what in particular did you like about your character?
I've been used to playing characters that have been tortured by some sort of demon, or some sort of internal angst usually. It was an adjustment to play someone like this. It was a lot more challenging that I thought it would ever be. It was a lot harder than I ever imagined it would be. When you play somebody that's so vulnerable you know, it's almost like an open book in a sense. Especially as he meets Rose and opens her whole world and you don't have anything to fall back on--as far as what he's internally going through. He's pretty much just there for her, to help her open up.
CS: Did you follow the script exactly?
LDC: We did a lot of improvisation and I think for the better. Kate and Jim {Cameron} and I did a lot of work to make the characters interesting and to make this realistic. Kate Winslet and I had a great camaraderie throughout the whole movie because we constantly reminded ourselves among the chaos of thousands--and I mean that literally, because when you're doing a movie of this size, Jim also had to pay a lot of attention not only to the intimate story between our characters, but the thousand other people with thousands of different agendas flying around everywhere. You really have to pay a lot of attention to what you started out and intended to do from the beginning--as far as your character is concerned--and keep that consistent, because everything seems to be chaotic.
CS: Much of the film involves special effects. When you finally saw the finished product, what was your reaction?
LDC: I take my hat off to Jim because not only did he have to work on both things simultaneously, he had to take care of everything and make the realist possible love story between two people we could do. I didn't pay much attention to the effects unless I was directly involved. It had something to do with my safety. There's special effects stuff, like green screen shots you have to do, which aren't fun. It's not like you truly feel like at your height as an actor when you stand behind a 'green screen' and have to wait there 30 times as an electronic computerized camera buzzes around you. That's something that we had to do to make the film what it is. And I think it's a great film.
CS: Everybody loves the scene where Jack and Rose are at the bow of the Titanic, catching the wind, symbolizing togetherness and flying towards freedom. What are your feelings about that scene?
LDC: Oh, wow. It looked great. I think with any movie you make something look --as far as technology is concerned--to see if it looked realistic. It looked pretty real to me! I'm not the best judge of it at the same time, but you try your best and I'd say to get the sort of imagery that you want to make the optimum shot that you have for a film, sometimes you can't be there in reality flying through space and zooming past somebody onto a ship that isn't really there. You've got to make it up. I didn't get to see a lot of the stuff they did in the computer room, so when I saw that ship break in half and you see it bounce back on the water and crush people and then the sort of marathon of people trying to survive in the middle of the ocean is breath-taking. That was the great part about seeing this movie for the first time. Not only did I get to watch what we did on screen, character-wise, but you get to be shocked and surprised by all the stuff that people have been doing while you're off on set for seven months.
CS: You spent a long time in the water. Tell us about the scene where you're hanging onto the board with Kate, laying there losing faith and drifting in the icy Atlantic.
LDC: I loved doing that! I mean, the water wasn't really cold, so all of us were acting and getting in that almost kabuki-like white make-up that we put on--like wax in our hair. It was like we were walking around like mummies for two weeks - like Halloween costumes and doing the scene was great. It was Jack's goodbye to Rose and his giving his life to her at that point. It was an extremely important scene for my character and Rose's character as well. It wraps up the whole film and I'm pretty proud of that.
CS: You make your characters so believable. What personal experiences do you draw from?
LDC: Well, first and foremost, I don't necessarily have to experience things in my own personal life to make them seem real on screen. A lot of roles that I've done in the past I knew nothing about going into it.
CS: What was your experience with Kate Winslet?
LDC: We both respected each other's work so much and I think the movie would have been twice as hard if it weren't for our mutual support of each other and the chemistry we had. We both truly like each other as human beings in real life. I think that always helps and it truly made it a lot easier.
CS: It was reported that Jim Cameron was not an easy person to work with...
LDC: He can be tough. Absolutely. There's no denying that. But you've got to understand that doing a film like this and taking responsibility for thousands of people that are constantly asking you questions is not easy. The only time he would get angry is when people weren't focused and that's what you need to understand doing a movie like this. He's such a passionate director and he really cared about making these characters real and in the end I think what we all connected with in the picture was our attachment to these two characters. That's what made it all the more tragic. Otherwise, you could have seen this ship go down and not cared if we didn't care about anyone on it.
CS: It used to be an Old Hollywood rule that the good guys don't die and that audiences prefer happy endings. By looking at some of your other movies, you seem to have a cinematic death wish. Do you?
LDC: (Laughs). Well, like I've said before, I think I'm pretty attracted to tragic characters, whether it's a true life story or fictional, they always seem to be really interesting...how they get to that point. I think besides that, the Titanic, as a film in whole, is a chancy movie. It's such a gigantic film that it's such a tragedy at the end and doesn't have a necessarily happy ending. This one was really unique for me. There hasn't been a film like it in a while. I really don't think so. That's what I told Jim Cameron.
CS: You've been known to bring your friends to the set. Does that help you relax during shoots?
LDC: Absolutely. That's like taking my home life with me to have them around. It bases me in reality. That's for sure. If I could, I'd do it on every movie, but not every location is as cool as Paris. If I'm shooting in some horrible location, I don't know if they'll go with me again! (Laughs)
CS: What was France like?
LDC: I had a great time in France. I really did. I brought my friends out with me and we explored the whole city. Had a good time. It was an honor for me to work with all the guys--not just Gerard (Depardeau), but everyone else that was involved with Iron Mask; Malkovich, Jeremy Irons and Gabriel Byrne. I mean, these are all actors that I sort of idolize, and to work with them was incredible. They're so comfortable with the job now. They're almost like little children on set. They're completely free-spirited.
CS: You're obviously idolized too. Do you feel isolated? Have you had to change your life in terms of where you can and can't go?
LDC: Yeah, I do have to watch a little bit more where I go nowadays. That's the truth, but it's the responsibility that you take with being an actor. It's what you've got to face. I wouldn't say that I'm ecstatic about not being able to do all the things that I used to be able to do, but it's not to the point where I can't go out in public and live--lead a normal life. I still live in the same place I've always lived. I know the people that I've always known, and you take the good with the bad. You really have to. With anything, there's always the bad things and the good things with any job. I'm not really used to it, so this is all new to me and it's just going to take me a little time to adjust.
CS: Are you adjusting?
LDC: Oh, I'm already fine with it. It can get a little stressful at times, like when you're going to a museum or something, and you can't peacefully visit a painting like you did before. That isn't the greatest feeling in the world, but, like I said, you take the good with the bad.
CS: Articles about you said that after doing Titanic you became a man. Please explain!
LDC: (Laughs) I've heard that so much...I just meant in the sense that we went through the broader spectrum of themes on this movie. We went through every experience that you could imagine making a film and it's almost like it's going to be hard for me to be shocked or deal with films in the future. I mean, of course things are going to be difficult making other films, but it's almost like we went through everything here and I had such an amazing experience going through everything that it changed me as far as career-wise, you know? It made me a different person.
CS: Let's talk about your heritage for a moment. How much of you is Italian?
LDC: My father's Italian, my mother's German, so I'm half-German, half-Italian. My father is an American-Italian, so he's like third of fourth generation American-Italian. I have a German middle name, Wilhelm. I've been to Germany more than a dozen times. I've seen the culture, spent a lot of time with the people, know a lot of German people. It's like my second home almost. It truly is and even though many people disagree, I love German food. (Laughs).
CS: What kind of music to you listen to?
LDC: Not really rock and roll. I like sort of 70's funk and soul, like Stevie Wonder and Bill Withers and Al Green, Marvin Gaye, people like that and I like rap music too.
CS: Do you go to concerts?
LDC: When I can. I don't have that much time anymore.
CS: Do you have to be backstage?
LDC: No, I'll go there--right in the pit with everyone! (Laughs).
CS: You're not as fidgety as you used to be. As you've matured, what wisdom have you learned?
LDC: Right now, to tell you the truth, I'm sort of going to slow down--as far as movies are concerned. I've been working like a horse and I need to take some...a long time off. I've had a lot of interests ever since I was sixteen and even younger than that, starting out in the business, which naturally get neglected when you have a busy schedule. Especially this next year, I'm going to take a lot of time off for myself and do a lot of the things that I've sort of missed out on.
CS: In Titanic we get a glimpse of how people of different classes treat each other. In your own life, have you ever been treated in a condescending way because of your background?
LDC: It's interesting...Our family didn't exactly grow up well-off by any means, but I just remember my elementary school specifically, because I went to a really special, predominant school, and hung out with a lot of kids that had much more money than us. I got to go hang out at really fantastic houses. So even though I grew up from that {modest} background, I was always treated in the best possible way. My mother wanted to always give me the best growing up. And as far as being treated differently, that's just ignorance that happens all over the place.
CS: Do you share your character Jack's philosophy of life?
LDC: I agree with that completely. I mean, if whether I can live up to that expectation is another thing. Jack is a character that is a free-spirited bohemian that grabs life by the reins and takes each moment as it counts--is a philosophy definitely to live by. It's hard to live up to, but it's something extremely admirable to model yourself after. Absolutely. That's what I loved about the character.
CS: Are you romantic in real life?
LDC: (Sexy grin). I do think I'm a pretty romantic guy. I don't know how romantic. I'm certainly not Romeo, but that's always a part of everyone's life. To what degree--it varies. I'm still a
young guy and I have plenty of...a lot of other girl's to meet, so... (Smiles).
CS: What do you consider romantic and how do you romance a girl?
LDC: It' hard, you know...I think just being as honest as possible with them and not--it's hard to sort of...It's weird. I mean, you can answer those questions. What's weird, and I think where a lot of young actors get into trouble, is when they feel that they need to live up to their public personality personally and create an image around what people expect of them when they meet you personally. You sort of develop a fake sense of yourself, where you feel like you need to create a character for your own personal life. What I mean, and all the sort of things that they see you as up on the screen, they want you to be all that and more, in person. It's a weird feeling when you realize you're just like everyone else. Sometimes people reject you for that reason.
CS: Do you like to give flowers?
LDC: (Getting a little uncomfortable on this too personal territory). I've done that. Been there, done that.
CS: Actors that have worked with you always comment about how much fun you are on the set. You laugh, tell jokes and then they're surprised at how quickly you get into character. As soon as the director calls 'action', you switch gears. How can you do that so easily?
LDC: The way I work is that I have to have a good attitude when I work. Making a film can be so tough at times, and unless you keep spirits light, it makes it go by a lot easier, especially doing a movie like Titanic. I've always joked around and I think overall it helps the movie. It helps me especially and it helps people work together comfortable, I think, when you have good spirits. As far as getting into the character, I've had no problem with any role that I've done. And as soon as they say 'cut!', I'm able to just walk away and not still be emotionally attached to it, just because that's the type of person I am, I suppose.
CS: It doesn't sound like you're having an identity crisis, but so many people don't really know you, other than from what you portray on the screen. Does it ever feel like you're actually two people?
LDC: It does and truthfully my response to it is that I feel so detached from most of the stuff that is going on--as far as the public figure is concerned. It almost makes you feel like two different people. I don't know any of these people individually, so it's hard for them to personally affect my life. It's almost like something I hear about and see, rather than truly experience. It truly seems like no reality. That's the bottom line. In a couple of years, I'm probably going to be able to look back on this and see what it was in reality, but much like anything for me career-wise, when it's actually happening it doesn't seem like it's really there.
CS: Do you feel you have to live up to The Image?
LDC: Not at all. Not at all.
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