Leonardo DiCaprio (1974- ) Actor, Producer and Activist

The name DiCaprio may not sound very German, but Leonardo DiCaprio’s middle name is Wilhelm, he speaks a little German, his mom is German, and his Oma (grandma) was living in Germany until her death in August 2008 at the age of 93.

“I haven’t gone crazy yet. I think it has to do with me not investing everything in my job. All these actors think that the blood running through their veins is fueled by acting. I’m happier when I’m not working, hanging out with my friends.” — Leonardo DiCaprio, quoted in Premiere magazine

Leonardo DiCaprio with then girlfriend Bar Refaeli and mother in Berlin in 2010. PHOTO: Cinema for Peace

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio, whose fame first hit tsunami heights with Titanic, got his middle name from his maternal grandfather, who was a mineworker in Germany’s coal-and-steel Ruhr region. Over the years Leonardo remained close to his German grandparents, especially Oma Helene, spending many summers in the small German town of Oer-Erkenschwick where she lived (near Recklinghausen), and inviting her to share special occasions—such as an on-location visit to Mexico during the filming for Titantic, and the London premiere of that huge hit film. Leo and Oma (along with his Brazilian then girlfriend Gisele Bündchen) were seen in Cologne, Germany in November 2004 visiting the local chocolate museum. (According to granny, Leo is a big fan of museums.) Only a few years later, grandma Helene died in a German hospital near her home on August 4, 2008, just days after a visit by her grandson Leonardo. DiCaprio’s namesake grandfather, Wilhelm Indenbirken, died in 2005.

DiCaprio at the London premiere of The Wolf of Wall Street on January 9, 2014. PHOTO: Christopher William Adach, Wikimedia Commons

Not that DiCaprio is always the model citizen. The actor smokes (or vapes), he has been known to down a few drinks, and he used to have a reputation (deserved or otherwise) as a heavy partyer and something of a prankster on and off the set (deserved). In school he was more class clown than student (which earned him the horrible nickname of Leonardo Retardo). But he would rather hang with his pals—who call him D, Leo, or Noodle—than act on a movie set, so he can’t be all bad. DiCaprio remains loyal to new and former friends. His so-called “posse” often goes with him, not only to shooting locations but also to exotic party locales. Once, DiCaprio spent a week in Cuba with his friends and the Canadian music star Alanis Morissette. Reportedly, Leo has insisted on a proviso in his contracts that the studio fly his friends to his film locations—first-class.

Leonardo in Berlin
Leonardo DiCaprio has traveled to the German capital for various events over the years. He was in Berlin on February 15, 2010, when environmental activist DiCaprio and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mikhail Gorbachev were re-united for the 9th Cinema for Peace Gala at Berlin’s historic Konzerthaus. (See photos on this page.)

In 2009, when The Cinema for Peace International Green Film Award presented by BMW went to DiCaprio, the Hollywood actor received it from Gorbachev. In 2010 the two men jointly presented the 2010 International Green Film Award to director Joe Berlinger for his film Crude, about the lawsuit by tens of thousands of Ecuadorans against Chevron over contamination of the Amazon.

Leonardo DiCaprio speaks at ceremonies in Berlin for Cinema for Peace in February 2010. PHOTO: Cinema for Peace

DiCaprio grew up in a down-at-the-heels neighborhood on the wrong side of the Hollywood tracks. He was an only child except for stepbrother Adam. His mom and dad separated before little Leo was talking (in either German or English). But the split-up was amicable, and Leonardo’s parents were there to support the budding actor, who started his acting career when he was still in junior high school, appearing in commercials and doing the occasional bit part.

After roles in various television productions, DiCaprio appeared in Critters 3 (1991). His career survived that forgettable first movie, and he was able to make a better impression as Toby in the 1993 film This Boy’s Life with Robert DeNiro. But it was his role as the retarded Arnie in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) that led to an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor before he was 20. Although DiCaprio didn’t win the award, the nomination did help him win increased recognition and respect. But Titanic was the blockbuster that DiCaprio had been looking for since his Gilbert Grape success, despite being left out of the 14 Academy Award nominations the picture received.

There has been much speculation on the source of DiCaprio’s talent. At least part of it is hereditary. His dad, George DiCaprio, half German and half Italian, is an underground comic book artist. He has helped his son screen the steady stream of film scripts that come Leonardo’s way. And who knows what else the young DiCaprio inherited from the rest of his German and Italian ancestors.

DiCaprio’s mother, Irmelin Indenbirken (sometimes spelled In Den Birken), was born in a German air raid shelter in the midst of a World War II air raid. After the war, in the 1950s, she emigrated to the US with her parents as a young child. She lived with her family in New York City until she met George DiCaprio in college, married him, and moved to California. DiCaprio’s maternal grandparents, Wilhelm and Helene Indenbirken, continued to live in the US for many years before returning to Germany to enjoy their retirement.

DiCaprio on the cover of the March 2010 issue of Esquire.

DiCaprio wisely resisted an agent’s suggestion early in his acting career that he change his name to Lenny Williams. He is proud of his name (“Don’t call me ‘Leonard’! I hate that!”) and remains close to his extended family—mom, dad, and grandmother Helene in Germany (before her death in 2008). Irmelin often took young Leo on trips to Germany to visit his grandparents in Oer-Erkenschwick (in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia near Dortmund and Recklinghausen), and it was during these family reunions that he learned to speak a little German and enjoy aspects of German culture. (See an interview with DiCaprio’s Oma.)

It was not that many years ago, long after he had already become a star and certified teenage heartthrob, that he stopped living at home with mom and got a place of his own. (But not before buying a new place for mom.) He can also easily afford his own $3.5-million Hollywood mansion. But with all his film work these days, he rarely gets to enjoy his fancy digs.

DiCaprio traveled to Berlin for the German premiere of The Beach in February 2000 as part of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). The young actor is extremely popular in Germany, and his fans (mostly female) were on hand in great numbers at the 50th Berlinale to make Leonardo “willkommen” in Berlin. Some indications of the stir he caused: A news conference held for the film was broadcast live on local television; a Berlin tabloid offered 1,000 marks to any girl who could manage to steal a kiss from the American heartthrob. (No winners. Security was very tight.) During that same week, DiCaprio’s face was on the cover of Stern magazine, Germany’s biggest circulation illustrated weekly. At the Berlin news conference, DiCaprio commented on the Leomania he has to endure so often: “The love I have for acting far outweighs all that. What remains is the work you do as an actor. In 20 years I hope people will see my work.”

Reaction to DiCaprio in The Beach (2000) was mixed. Many critics described the film itself as “confused” or even “boring.” Most agreed, however, that Dicaprio’s acting abilities were strong, and the film represented a return to his previous darker work in Gilbert Grape or A Boy’s Life. The Beach is about as “anti-Titanic” as you can get, and DiCaprio wanted it that way. Newsweek’s analysis: “Dark and visceral, ‘The Beach’ was Leo’s postadolescent rebellion against his preadolescent fans—a titanic kiss-off to Leomaniacs.” And DiCaprio took an almost two-year hiatus following Titanic before deciding to do The Beach, a film he felt wouldn’t bore him after his Hollywood-pap experience.

Film poster: DiCaprio as the young Howard Hughes in The Aviator.

His role in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can (2002) was slightly more conventional — if you can call the true story of con man Frank Abagnale, Jr. conventional. Although it was a little darker than I expected, and it started out slowly, I enjoyed this film in which Tom Hanks plays FBI agent Carl Hanratty, playing a cat-and-mouse game with DiCaprio’s character. In Johnny Depp-like fashion, very reminiscent of Depp’s character in Blow (complete with Boston accent), DiCaprio does an excellent job with this dysfunctional-family, con-man role.

His portrayal of billionaire Howard Hughes in The Aviator (2004) drew high praise and won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. DiCaprio very convincingly plays a young and increasingly weird Hughes in 1940s Hollywood. His more recent films include: The Departed (2006), Blood Diamond (2006), Body of Lies (2008), Revolutionary Road (2008), Shutter Island (2010), Inception (2010), J. Edgar (2011), Titanic 3D (2012), Django Unchained (2012) and The Great Gatsby (2013).

In addition to his acting roles, DiCaprio has also been a producer for several films, includin Runner Runner (2013), Out of the Furnace (2013), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Virunga (2014), and Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014).

One of his latest acting roles, as Hugh Glass in The Revenant (2015), garnered him a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama. See some of his other film awards below.

Film Awards and Nominations

Leonardo DiCaprio has been honored with the following awards and nominations for his film acting:

Golden Globe Awards: The Revenant (2015) and The Aviator (2004), both for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Golden Globe Nominations (9): Django Unchained (2012, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role), J. Edgar (2011, Best Actor, Drama), Revolutionary Road (2008, Best Actor, Drama), Blood Diamond (2006, Best Actor, Drama), The Departed (2006, Best Actor, Drama), The Aviator (2004, won Best Actor, Drama), Catch Me If You Can (2002, Best Actor, Drama), Titanic (1997, Best Actor, Drama), What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993, Supporting Actor, Drama).

Academy Award Nominations (5, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role): WON! The Revenant (2015), The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Blood Diamond (2006), The Aviator (2004), What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993).

DiCaprio has also received many other cinematic awards over the years from many organizations, including BAFTA, the Berlin International Film Festival, the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Hollywood Film Festival, the National Board of Review and others. For a full list, see Leonardo DiCaprio – Awards at IMDb.

Israeli model Bar Refaeli (left) and Leonardo’s mom were with him for Cinema for Peace ceremonies in Berlin in 2010. PHOTO: Cinema for Peace

Romances
Leonardo DiCaprio has been linked to several women over the years. He and Titanic/Revolutionary Road co-star Kate Winslet have long been good friends. Romantically, he seems to prefer models and actresses. He was briefly involved with the Brazilian fashion model Gisele Bündchen in 2004. Later he was seen with another fashion model, the Israeli Bar Refaeli. (See photo above.) The two traveled together to Israel in March 2007, meeting with Israeli president Shimon Peres and visiting Refaeli’s hometown of Hod HaSharon. Refaeli was also with DiCaprio and his German mother when he attended the Cinema for Peace Gala in Berlin in 2010. Refaeli was his longest attachment to date, but now the two have gone their separate ways. DiCaprio was then in relationships with actress Blake Lively (2011) and model Erin Heatherton (2011-2012). For about six months in 2013-2014, German model Toni Garrn was the focus of his attention. He dated model Kelly Rohrbach until late 2015.

DiCaprio has long been active in support of various causes, including evironmental and sexual preference issues. On April 20, 2013, DiCaprio was in Los Angeles as one of many celebrity presenters for the 2013 GLAAD Media Awards. He joined Charlize Theron on stage to present the Stephen F. Kolzak Award to attorney Steve Warren for his activism work in the LGBT community.

More | Interview with DiCaprio’s German Grandma

Related Pages
AT THE GERMAN WAY

• Interview with DiCaprio’s Oma – Interview with DiCaprio’s German Grandma
• Mini Bios A-Z – More brief biographies of people from the German-speaking world
• Featured Biographies – More detailed bios of notable people from the German-speaking world
• Notable Women from Austria, Germany, Switzerland
• Famous Graves in Germany – Where are they buried?
• Also see Germans in Hollywood – German, Austrian and Swiss people in Hollywood

ON THE WEB

• The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation works to support ecological projects and a sustainable future.
• Leonardo DiCaprio (official site)
• Simply Leonardo DiCaprio is a fan and news site

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