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Oh Leonardo, Leonardo, wherefore art thou Oscar?
Other | Friday 7th March 2014 | Nathan
Sunday March 2, 2014 marked the film industry's grandest event: the 86th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. As usual, the Actor and Actress award categories consisted of first time nominees among very familiar names selected on multiple occasions. Typically, there was also controversy based upon ‘who should’ and ‘who shouldn’t’ have won an acting award. There was one man in particular that once again became the focal point of this controversy.
Leonardo DiCaprio is arguably the most talented actor never to have won an Oscar in the acting department. There’s a saying, ‘third time’s the charm’, but that’s not the case with DiCaprio. It’s hard to fathom why the LA born megastar who broke into the film industry with an unforgettable performance in ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’ in 1993, has yet to win the big one. Let me address his role in the film. Leo (as Arnie Grape) played a mentally challenged child so well that people actually believed the Californian actor was mentally challenged! Along came the 66th Academy Awards. Surely, the breakout star was going to win. Nope. Fans and critics were stunned as Tommy Lee Jones stepped onto centre stage to pick up the Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for his role in ‘The Fugitive’ as a U.S. Marshal.
Former US President George Bush once said, “A true measure of a man is how you handle victory and how you handle defeat.” For a while, Leo was in a slump – failing to gain any praise following lacklustre performances in ‘Romeo + Juliet’ and ‘Titanic’. Just when we thought loverboy had faded into obscurity like Macaulay Culkin, he returned in full force. Seriously, like a man possessed with fantastic, back-to-back performances in ‘Catch Me If You Can’ and ‘Gangs of New York’ in 2002. With the success of those films, it became as clear as crystal that Leonardo DiCaprio was no longer that heartthrob you knew. He had become a man!
Leonardo DiCaprio is a perfect example of how to bounce back from defeat – following his epic performance in ‘The Aviator’ in 2004, which earned him an Oscar nomination. Along came the 77th Academy Awards. Leo lost out once again – this time to Jamie Foxx for his adaptation of the Ray Charles. You have to give the dude his props; there was no question that Foxx had undoubtedly done the late great blues legend proud with his performance. Fair play.
There’s a saying, ‘you can be down but never out’. Despite suffering two knockdowns, Leo displayed incredible grit by rising to his feet. He recovered remarkably and came back stronger with an unforgettable performance in ‘Blood Diamond’ a couple of years later, which earned him his third Oscar nomination. Along came the 79th Academy Awards. There’s a saying, ‘third time’s the charm’, but it wasn’t in DiCaprio’s case. Rather, lightning had struck him for the third time! On the contrary, there was no shame in losing to Forest Whitaker for his outstanding performance in ‘The Last King of Scotland’ as ‘Idi Amin’.
There's a saying, ‘what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger’. Leo indeed came back stronger than ever with an exceptional performance in ‘J. Edgar’, despite the film itself receiving negative reviews. The following year he made the most out of his small supporting role in ‘Django Unchanined’, notably sharing an epic bar scene with another great actor – Christoph Waltz. DiCaprio had also displayed his ability to portray an antagonist remarkably!
Leo utilized his well-earned stock by investing in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. His financial input, in conjunction with his impeccable portrayal of the fraudulent stockbroker Jordan Belfort, contributed to a profitable blockbuster and two Oscar award nominations at this year’s Academy Awards.
Who else was thinking ‘this has to be Leonardo DiCaprio’s year?’
With nominations for ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Producer’, pretty much everyone and their grandmother assumed he was going to win at least one. Nope. Nada.
It was a bittersweet night. Leonardo DiCaprio’s tally sunk to 0-5 but Brad Pitt finally won one! Bear in mind it was for ‘Best Producer’. It’s mind-boggling how he has yet to win an Oscar in an acting role following incredible performances in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ and ‘Moneyball’.
There’s a saying, ‘good things come to those who wait’. Let’s hope this is a phrase that applies to Leonardo DiCaprio after a gruelling 20-year wait.
