23 years old, toothpick thin, 1.8m shy guy Leonardo DiCaprio is still recovering from starring in what may be the most expensive movie ever made - James Cameron's Titanic, which costs a mind boggling US $285 million.
"Oh boy , the Titanic was just another whole ball game. I've never done a movie like it. you would arrive on the set & see thousands of people that were involved with it --- it was just a gigantic undertaking!" "In a situation like that, you really have to work hard to keep a sense of your character & not get distracted by all the madness going on around you,"says Leo, who has built his reputation as Hollywood's hottest young star on performances in much smaller productions since his mark as Robert DiNiro's abused step son in the 1993 tearjerker This Boy's Life, This Boy's Life has been chronicled as often as his movies.
3 yrs ago, citing his club-hopping ways, Rolling Stone mag noted ominously that Leonardo DiCaprio: seems poised to assume the mantle of River Phoenix, "nonsense," says his defenders. "There's nothing River Phoenix about him," insists photographer Patrick McMullan. "He likes to party but he isn't caught up in it." Adds screen writer James Toback, "He's very cunning, calculating, shrewd & smart guy. He would run away from anything & anybody that might sabotage him, he does not want to fail."
Hard on the heels of Titanic, Leo has finished another demanding role, dual parts in fact, playing the young king of France Louis 14, & a mysterious prisoner forced to wear a metal face plate disgusing his identity, in the swash buckling TMITIM.
Next, he makes his appearance in Woody Allen's Celebrity, with an all star cast including Titanic co-star Kate Winslet, Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder & Mira Sorvino. "Its a cameo, 4 of days work," says Leo of his new role . "I wanted to work with Woody Allen. I play an egoistical spoilt young actor & you know, there's a lot of things that made me laugh about it."
Of his rapid ascent in Hollywood, Leo says, "its all tricky stuff man. You just have to keep your mind on your work. i remember Tom Hanks talking about what was important to him-doing what you're passionate about that's all you can truly do as an actor."
"I realise I've done quite a few films. Some were pretty good. The fact that people my age see my films & like what I do is a cool thing. I can't tell you how it's going to be in the future because I have no idea."
When he isn't on a film set or with friends & family, Leo might be getting his kicks by bungee jumping, sky diving, or river rafting as he admits, "I like to do things that scare me." His favorite coinventional sport is basketball. "I'm a fan of the LA Lakers," he says. "Sometime I get such a rush from watching a game on tv that I run outisde and shoot a few baskets during the commercials."
He may be on the crest of a wave with the succes of Titanic but Leo is also the subject of some unwelcome speculation, 1st, a 14 yr old boy shot dead 3 of his classmates in Kentucky claimed he was "inspired" by one of Leo's eariler films, the Basketball Diaries, in which a character dreams he shoots his teacher & fellow students.
And a few years ago, he made a film called Don's Plum for free for his freind RD Robb on the understanding that it might be made into a full length film-with his approval. But Robb wants to release the film & Leo is trying to stop him because he is a drug taking, woman hating, nerdy character who is at odds with the hearthrob now wants to be seen by his adoring public.
Incredibly, by Holly wood standards he still lives in a modest 2 bedroom home in LA's Los Feliz section with his mother Imerlin, a german born legal secretary. Father George, an old "hippie" who worked as an under ground comic artist & distributor, lives nearby.
Leo's parents separated a year after he was born but never divorced, they remain close & both help to manage Leo's booming carrer. Imerlin manges the business side, George reviews & critiques the avalanche of scripts that he recieves. of the two, his mother is clearly the stronger influence in his life." She's a good leveller," Leo says with a grin "she keeps herself separated from all the glitz & glamour of showbuisness. She gives me advice that acting is just a job. She would have the same enthusiasim for what I do if i worked at a grocery store. It's refreshing, even if, sometimes I wish she were a little less honest with me."
His publicists swears he is in the process of getting his own place, but his pals says the only time he leaves his mum behind is to go to his favorite club a few nights a week.
"He & his mum don't make a move without each other," confides a family friend" She was even his date at the academy awards when he was nominated for What's Eating Gibert Grape."
"I don't have that many freinds in showbusiness. Lukas Haas is a buddy & I still talk to Juliette Lewis a lot, but my main freinds are the ones I have known for years. I don't have much more than that," confides the hunky actor.
His parents once thought that he might even follow the path of the other Leonatdo because growing up in a tough section of Hollywood, Leo loved painting. Even more he enjoyed mimicry-in high school, he imitaited Adam Farrar, his older step brother, who had appeared in commercials.
In fact it was a commercial that gave Leo his showbusiness break. At 14 he did a comercial spot for Matchbox cars before landing a role on the tv series Growing Pains in 1991 as Luke, a homeless boy. His breakthrough came when he beat hundreds of actors for the role in This Boy's Life At 19, he got an oscar nomination for What's Eating Gilbert Grape, then won raves for the The Quick And The Dead & The Basketball Diaries.
For Marvin's Room, Robert De Niro hand picked leo because "He's always compelling. You can't watch anything else when he's acting." Such accolades apparently haven't gone to his head." He is the most down to earth person I've met," continued De Niro." Very un-Hollywood. He remains a kid at heart, after the clubbing, Leo stil returns home to mum." If anything, Leo's boyish appearance makes him look a lot younger.
Having left his teenage years behind, how does he cope with being voted the world's most beautiful man?
"It's as if it's happening to someone else. When I look in the mirror, I don't see beauty. I see an insecure actor who's spent most of his life wondering where his next job is going to come from." "I've never really looked back," he continues after a thoughtful pause. "Now its kinda like a shock to realise what I have done. It's a hard positon to be in when you have success. There's a lot of pressure. I can understand why some young stars seem to go off the deep end. It's easy to fall into the trap of believing all the hype that's been written about you."
