The five greatest Leonardo DiCaprio death scenes
Leonardo DiCaprio is now regarded as one of Hollywood’s biggest and most successful actors. However, like many before him, he began his career in less glamourous realms by acting in commercials as a child, and it wasn’t until the early 1990s that he was frequently securing television gigs.
Slowly building confidence, DiCaprio would make his big screen debut with a role in Kristine Peterson’s sci-fi movie Critters 3, which he refers to as “possibly one of the worst films of all time”, before appearing in the sitcom Growing Pains. The actor began to be recognised for his work after a starring role in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape alongside Johnny Depp, which earned him an Oscar nomination.
From here, there was no stopping the DiCaprio train. He appeared alongside David Thewlis in Total Eclipse and played the drug-addicted teenage Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries. Baz Luhrmann later recruited the young star to play Romeo in his modernised adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which was a huge success, cementing DiCaprio as the modern Hollywood heartthrob.
However, DiCaprio reached new heights when he played Jack in James Cameron’s tragic love story and historical drama Titanic, famously playing alongside Kate Winslet. Since then, DiCaprio has worked on countless high-profile projects, collaborating with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Sam Mendes, and Christopher Nolan.
Now established as the main man of the movie business, DiCaprio is known for playing tragic roles, with ten of his biggest jobs ending with his character dying. Here, we’ve chosen five of the star’s best death scenes in a homage to the art of his skill.
The greatest Leonardo DiCaprio death scenes:
Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann, 1996)
Of course, we can’t mention a DiCaprio death scene without starting Romeo + Juliet. While Romeo’s death doesn’t come as a surprise, the story of the doomed lovers is canonical.
However, the marvellously acted scene – where a miscommunication of events leads to Romeo drinking poison under the guise that Juliet is dead before she wakes and shoots herself in the head – is a beautiful yet shocking moment.
Titanic (James Cameron, 1997)
This performance undoubtedly inspired DiCaprio’s casting in the ill-fated love story Titanic a year later. Arguably the actor’s most memorable death, the iconic moment is one of mainstream cinema’s most unforgettable scenes.
As Rose lays on the floating door in the ice-cold water, she holds onto her lover whilst telling him, “I’ll never let go”, before eventually letting his dead body float away. It’s one of the film’s most emotional moments, and as far as movie death scenes go, it’s up there as one of the greatest.
The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006)
Next is Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, one of seven collaborations between the director and DiCaprio. The actor takes a leading role as State Trooper Billy Costigan Jr in the epic crime thriller, which went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars.
DiCaprio’s good-natured character is shot by Trooper Barrigan in a climactic and unexpected ending, making it one of the actor’s most startling character deaths.
Blood Diamond (Edward Zwick, 2006)
Another of his best death scenes is in Blood Diamond, where DiCaprio plays a smuggler and mercenary named Danny Archer. The actor’s role was divisive due to his questionable South African accent; however, the political action thriller still earned him a Best Actor nomination.
Playing an anti-hero character, Danny’s life is cut short when he kills the colonel and gets fatally wounded. Whilst letting his son and friend go, he lays out in the sun to die in a tragic finale.
Django: Unchained (Quentin Tarantino, 2012)
Finally, Django: Unchained, Tarantino’s revisionist Western, stars DiCaprio as Calvin Candie, a vile plantation owner. The unusual role for DiCaprio is still excellently performed; however, his cruel character wasn’t awarded a tragic and emotional death in comparison to his usual roles.
Instead, Calvin is shot point-blank by Christopher Waltz’s Dr. Schultz, straight through a flower on his jacket and into his heart.
