Check Out These Adorable Photos Of Leonardo DiCaprio Auditioning As A Teen
Leonardo DiCaprio was born in Los Angeles, California on November 11th, 1974. Now 46-years-old, it’s no stretch to say that Leo is one of the best actors to ever hit Hollywood.
From Titanic to The Wolf of Wall Street to The Great Gatsby, Leo has only proved time and again with every movie he’s ever made that he can pretty much do anything…and at an extraordinary level.
He’s played so many diverse roles in his career, and you really can’t point to the man being in one bad movie (although he seems to think there was one, in particular, that wasn’t that great).
Here’s how Leo built his illustrious career leading up to Titanic, plus some adorable photos of him auditioning as a teen back in the 90s, way before he made it big!
Instagram; pictured above is Leo with one of his closest friends, Kate Winslet, and her kids
Leo appeared as Jack in the 1997 movie Titanic, and that was really the start of everyone noticing how talented he really was, but what did he do before that?
Growing up, Leo’s step-brother got into acting, and he pretty much followed suit. As a 5-year-old, Leo starred in Romper Room, but he experienced only ten seconds of fame before he was promptly fired from his position.
LOS ANGELES – 1991: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio auditions at a casting agency in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
“Romper Room was the big hit show, and there I was,” he explained to Deadline in an interview about his early years of acting.
“I remember running up to the camera, looking into it, and slapping it. They had to sit me down multiple times.”
“And when the host said, “Hey, kids, it’s story time,” I am screaming, at the top of my voice, “Yeaaah!” And then they fired me. I’m afraid I deserved it. They had to kick me out.”
From there, Leo started getting involved in commercials, and he worked for some pretty big names like Kraft and Mattel.
LOS ANGELES – 1991: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio auditions at a casting agency in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
He was able to move into TV work again, playing in a couple of minor roles in various shows.
The biggest thing he starred in on TV was a sitcom called Parenthood, but that was only on NBC for a single season, ending in 1991.
LOS ANGELES – 1991: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio auditions at a casting agency in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
That same year, Leo finally got his big break to move into making movies. His breakout role was in a comedy horror called Critters 3, and if you think Leo has never made a bad movie I hate to break it to you, but he thinks this one was it. Towards the end of 1991, Leo got cast in another TV sitcom called Growing Pains.
In 1992, Leo was selected by Robert De Niro to act alongside him in a movie called This Boy’s Life, which actually did quite well.
LOS ANGELES – 1991: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio auditions at a casting agency in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
It wasn’t until the next year though that Leo starred in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and he really started raking in the ratings. He ended up being nominated for a Golden Globe as well as an Academy Award.
When 1995 came, Leo was cast in a western titled The Quick and the Dead. That same year he appeared in The Basketball Diaries and Total Eclipse.
His career was picking up steam by now!
LOS ANGELES – 1991: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio auditions at a casting agency in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
In 1996, Leo played Romeo in Romeo + Juliet. Not only did the movie do exceptionally well (it brought in $147 million dollars across the world), but Leo did too.
He ended up taking home the Silver Bear for Best Actor, an award the Berlin International Film Festival gives out.
Next, Leo appeared in Marvin’s Room, which also came out in 1996.
LOS ANGELES – 1991: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio auditions at a casting agency in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
Then, Leo went to audition for Titanic. He was up against some already big-name and established actors for the role of Jack, including Matthew McConaughey.
So what made Leo really stand out for the role?
LOS ANGELES – 1991: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio auditions at a casting agency in 1991 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Grecco)
“Leo came in for an interview and I had this weird thing: I looked around the room and every woman in the building was in the meeting… the accountant was there, the female security guard, so I thought maybe I better cast this guy,” James Cameron, the director said according to CinemaBlend.
Leo impressed quite a few people in the room that day, landing the role of Jack and setting the stage for the rest of his career to be quite the success.
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