“He’s a juicy character for me to play”: how Leonardo DiCaprio found joy in egomania
Leonardo DiCaprio is celebrated for his versatility as an actor. However, some of his most memorable roles are those of characters with an inflated sense of self. Think Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street, Mr Candie in Django Unchained, and Rick Dalton in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Some might agree that DiCaprio works best when portraying characters that are morally grey or all-out evil.
And while Jordan Belfort is certainly his most egocentric character to date, the first role that allowed him to find joy in egomania was Catch Me If You Can. The 2002 biological crime comedy tells the story of Frank Abagnale, a real-life conman who claims to have performed cons worth millions by posing as an airline pilot, a doctor and a prosecutor before the age of 19.
DiCaprio spoke to the BBC about his portrayal of the conman, stating that it was “a juicy character for me to play. He impersonates an airline pilot, a doctor, a lawyer. It’s all about the art of misdirection. I think that’s a fantastic thing for an actor to play. It was all instinctive to Frank Abagnale, and that’s what I wanted to bring out in this character.”
Up until this point, DiCaprio had mostly played troubled, romantic heroes, most iconically Jack in Titanic. But after a successful portrayal of the titular character Romeo in Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet, he sought to shed this image and avoid being typecast by taking on the more versatile role of Abagnale.
Meeting with the real-life Abagnale to prepare for the role, DiCaprio remarked, “I think he’s one of the most egocentric criminals who ever lived” and showed a certain awe for his pure “chutzpah”. He continued: “I mean, he had the FBI chasing their tale for years!”. So, it seems as though this egotistical criminal was exactly the perfect part for DiCaprio to get away from his leading man roles, given Abagnale’s seeming lack of remorse for his crimes.
He also seemed to fool even DiCaprio himself, as the film has gone on to cast doubt on the truth of Abagnale’s story in more recent years. Records seem to show Frank Abagnale was actually detained in the Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Fort Ann, New York, between the ages of 17 and 20, thus making it impossible for him to impersonate various important people around the country.
However, despite the truth, DiCaprio found a sense of joy in portraying Abagnale with his story, making for a fun and intense shoot that took place around 147 locations in just 52 days. It also proved to be the right move for the actor as he has become known for his more cocky, womanising roles. At the time, DiCaprio wondered if he “would have that unique ability to draw people in and engage them as Frank did”, but I think more than two decades on, we can all agree that he does.
