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Trivia
Birth name: Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio
Date of birth: 11 November 1974
Place of birth: Hollywood, California, USA
Nickname: Leo
Height: 6' 1" (1.85 m)
DiCaprio was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of George DiCaprio, a half Italian-half German distributor of comic books, and Irmelin Indenbirken, a former legal secretary who was born in Germany.
His name allegedly came about because his pregnant mother was standing in front of a
Leonardo da Vinci painting at a museum in Italy when he kicked, which made her decide to name him after the famous artist.
His parents divorced when he was a year old.
He grew up in Echo Park.
While filming Beach, The (2000) off the coast of Thailand, Leonardo and
others were swept off a camera boat by strong winds and waves. No one
was injured. [16 April 1999]
His first publicity spot was about MILK.
Sues Playgirl magazine over plans to publish pictures --including full
frontal nudity -- of himself. [March 1998]
Ranked #75 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of
All Time" list. [October 1997]
Chosen by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People
in the World." [1997]
Was considering starring in a movie about actor James Dean but turned
down the role because he felt he wasn't experienced enough to do the
film. [1996]
Screen tested for the part of Robin in Batman Forever (1995).
When three years old, he was in an educational program, called
"Romper Room" (1953) and was nearly kicked off for
uncontrollable behavior.
Chosen by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People
in the World." [1998]
Father was a comicbook dealer.
Attended John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, California.
Has a stepbrother, Adam Farrar.
He and his family funded a state-of-the-art computer center at the Los
Feliz branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, which was rebuilt after
the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
A Manhattan appeals court decided to go ahead with a $45 million lawsuit
against DiCaprio by actor and screenwriter Roger Wilson for allegedly
encouraging his friends in a street fight with Wilson over advances
DiCaprio's friends made toward Wilson's girlfriend, Elizabeth
Berkley. [2000]
At age 10, his agent advised him to change his name to a more American-
friendly Lenny Williams. Needless to say, he did not follow that advice.
Was initially set to star as Alan Jensen in Harvard Man (2001), but the
film's low budget could not afford to pay his salary, so he dropped out
and Adrian Grenier took the lead.
Was set to star in American Psycho (2000) but had to drop it due to
scheduling conflicts. Christian
Bale took the part instead.
In January 1999, his lawyers filed an application to allow DiCaprio to
copyright his own name.
Attended Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies before attending
Marshall High
His mom was standing in front of a da Vinci painting in Italy when Leo
kicked her. That sign prompted her to name him after the painter.
His father is an Italian-American and his mother is German-American
Attended Seeds Elementary School at UCLA where he took summer courses in
performance art
Ranked #42 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #74 in
2002 and #60 in 2001.
Ranked #6 in Star TV's "Top 10 Box Office Stars of the 1990s"
(2003).
Childhood friends with Tobey Maguire and the late Christopher Pettiet.
When his camera went missing, he offered a substantial reward of many
thousands of pounds for its return. [November 2003]
Was once attached to star in American Psycho (2000) and was reputedly
offered over $20 million for the role.
Openly supported John Kerry in the 2004 election. He went around 11
states and gave 20 speeches about the environment and how the Bush
Administration has damaged it.
Was offered the role of the porn star Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights
(1997) at around the same time as he was offered his role in Titanic
(1997). The role eventually went to Mark
Wahlberg.
Mentioned in an interview with Katie Couric that while filming The
Aviator, it brought back his own Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that he
had as a child. (December 23, 2004)
He is an environmental conservationist and often advocates and supports
natural causes.
Considered for the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man (2002)
.
Filed police charges after being attacked with a bottle by an animal
rights activist while leaving a nightclub in June 2005. Although the
wound was very close to his jugular vein, it was not expected to delay
production on his latest movie.
Of 3/4 German and 1/4 Italian descent. His paternal grandfather was an
Italian immigrant
Won the roles of Rimbaud in Total Eclipse (1995) after the death of
actor River Phoenix in 1993.
Robert
De Niro and Jack Nicholson are his favorite actors.
He can speak a little German.
Boyfriend of Gisele Bundchen [2002-2005]
Was considered for the role of Anakin Skywalker for Star Wars episode
II: Attack of the Clones. But the role went to Hayden Christensen
instead.
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