The one thing Leonardo DiCaprio vowed never to do as an actor: “Pretty manipulative”
There are many actors who approach their careers in a calculated and almost chess-like way; carefully selecting roles that will manipulate audiences and mould their reputation into a shape that most suits them. It could be the strange choices being made by Jenna Ortega, in which there appears to be no rhyme or reason to each project she stars in, or the highly anticipated dramatic comeback of Tom Holland, who has starred in a string of less successful films alongside the towering success of Spider-Man.
However, while it might seem random to us, there are some actors who are extremely strategic when it comes to choosing new projects, whether it be Zendaya’s stacked filmography that consists of only the most established directors in the business, to Mikey Madison’s decline of working with Shawn Levy, sending a very clear message about the type of filmmaking she wants to align herself.
While it might seem quite extreme, there are some who have to oversee how their image is used and how they want to market themselves, despite the fact that one of the greatest actors of our time said he would never do this.
Leonardo DiCaprio has had a prolific career throughout his time in Hollywood, with early beginnings on television shows that shortly put him in the same room as Robert de Niro and sparked a decades-long creative partnership with Martin Scorsese. From playing haunted dream detectives to ageing actors and corrupt bankers, the actor has just about done it all, with the actor describing how his career has never been motivated by making choices for anyone but himself, always going with what interests him and not what surprises audiences.
The actor has certainly thrown some curveballs throughout his time, with more surprising roles in films like The Great Gatsby, The Revenant and Don’t Look Up, but described how this only ever came from a place of genuine intrigue and passion.
When discussing the trajectory of his career and early association with being a heartthrob after roles in Titanic and Romeo and Juliet, DiCaprio said, “You know, I’m never really conscious of saying, ‘I’m going to take on a specific role to combat a certain image in the public eye.’ I think that’s pretty manipulative and transparent to the public anyway. And I’m, by the way, open to doing any kind of role and any kind of genre as long as it’s interesting and as long as I feel it could be a great character to play. I never take into my own personal opinions or my own public image into account when I choose movie roles.”
DiCaprio might have been associated with certain types of swoon-worthy characters towards the beginning of his career, but this by no means dictated a pattern in his future roles. Perhaps the best way to evolve as an actor is to make choices that purely come from the heart, and seeing as we change constantly as people, it only makes sense that this would be reflected in our artistry. Maybe you don’t need to try to control how you grow, and this will only happen gradually over time, leading to a naturally eclectic and surprising filmography.
