“I am, like, the antichrist”: the deal with the devil Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t mind making
Most aspiring actors would sell their souls to the devil to enjoy a career even half as successful as Leonardo DiCaprio, so the star, once dubbing himself the antichrist, might actually make sense.
After all, how else do you explain how he’s managed to remain one of Hollywood’s most visible, popular, and bankable stars for the last three decades, never mind the fact that virtually every movie he agrees to appear in turns out to be either a critical, commercial, or awards season favourite, if not all three?
A keen understanding of what makes a good script? A desire to surround himself with the best filmmakers in the business? His undoubted ability as an actor almost guaranteeing a top-tier performance every time he steps in front of the camera? Maybe, but the devil thing is much more interesting.
Some stars have been guilty of oversaturating themselves and overstaying their welcome with audiences, but not DiCaprio. His selective nature and the odd position he’s found himself in since Titanic, of being both tabloid fodder and intensely private, has ensured that he’s never become overexposed.
He’s only headlined nine films in the last 15 years, and of those nine, seven of them were ‘Best Picture’ nominees, and four of them got him ‘Best Actor’ nominations at the Academy Awards. He’s the guy Timothée Chalamet seems so intent on becoming, and perhaps he’s had some help from the underworld.
In the immediate aftermath of James Cameron’s record-shattering and Oscar-hoovering sensation, DiCaprio found himself in a reflective mood. “The most upsetting thing is realising I’m no longer the underdog,” he explained. “I’ve always felt like the guy who’s had to go out there and prove himself.”
He even pointed to the fact that “none of my movies ever made any money,” and how his commitment to the craft meant that he was “always too artsy to get certain roles.” Obviously, taking top billing in the biggest movie in cinema history will change that, and even when he tried to zag when everyone else was telling him to zig, he felt the weight and pressure of expectation.
“From being in that position, which I was comfortable in, when I did try to do something different, like Titanic, all of a sudden, I am the complete epitome of that,” DiCaprio added, suggesting that now that his days of being the underdog were officially over, and he was a globally recognised superstar with his pick of the roles, through no fault of his own, he’d been labelled as a sell-out who’d abandoned his principles.
Or, as he more succinctly put it, “I am, like, the antichrist.” Antichrist or not, Titanic elevated the actor to a lofty position that he’s never looked like coming down from, and having spent nearly 30 uninterrupted years on the A-list, it certainly looks as though that deal with the devil has worked out pretty well for him, all things considered.
