Although Leonardo DiCaprio might be a Hollywood icon and an awards-season mainstay, the actor has somehow steered clear of one highly acclaimed movie genre throughout his 34-year career. Leonardo DiCaprio’s upcoming serial killer movie proves that the actor has no aversion to dark roles. Most recently, Killers of the Flower Moon saw DiCaprio risk his charming leading man image for the umpteenth time by playing the odious real-life murderer Ernest Burkhart.
In earlier years, DiCaprio was lauded for playing the amoral Wall Street crook Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street, a laughably insecure, over-the-hill Western star in Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, and the vile plantation owner Calvin Candy in Django Unchained. Many of Leonardo DiCaprio’s best movies cast him not as morally pure sweethearts, but as flawed and fascinating figures. These roles prove that DiCaprio is unafraid of parts that explore the darker side of humanity, so it is surprising to learn that he has thus far steered clear of one genre.
Despite Being One Of Hollywood’s Biggest Actors For 30 Years, Leonardo DiCaprio Hasn’t Done A War Movie
DiCaprio’s Lengthy Screen Career Has Never Seen Him Star In A War Movie
Throughout the star’s 34-year career, Leonardo DiCaprio has somehow never starred in a war movie. The A-list star has appeared in 40 movies and, although war features as a plot element in a handful of them, none could reasonably be considered war movies. What makes this striking is the fact that most of DiCaprio’s A-list contemporaries, like Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and George Clooney, have all starred in numerous war movies. DiCaprio’s Gangs of New York follows a gang war and 2006’s Blood Diamond takes place against the backdrop of Sierra Leon’s civil war, but that’s about it.
Clooney appeared in Syriana, The Thin Red Line, The Men Who Stare At Goats, and Three Kings, but any appearance from war in DiCaprio’s movies is strictly in a background role.
Pitt has starred in Fury, War Machine, Allied, and Inglorious Basterds, while Cruise starred in Valkyrie, Taps, Lions for Lambs, and Born on the Fourth of July. Clooney appeared in Syriana, The Thin Red Line, The Men Who Stare At Goats, and Three Kings, but any appearance from war in DiCaprio’s movies is strictly in a background role. The Revenant alludes to conflicts between Native Americans and European invaders, but the movie is primarily concerned with one man’s survival in an inhospitable climate. Similarly, sprawling historical dramas like The Aviator and J. Edgar feature wars as incidental details in their broader stories.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Previous Roles Prove He’d Be Perfect In A War Movie
DiCaprio’s Work Suggests He Is A Good Fit For The Genre
The fact that one of DiCaprio’s most forgotten roles came in 2008’s Iraq War espionage thriller Body of Lies might explain his reticence around exploring the genre. However, DiCaprio should not be put off war movies permanently. The star’s work to date proves that he would be perfect for a war movie given his skill at getting under the skin of morally compromised, flawed protagonists. DiCaprio’s ability to humanize even figures like Burkhart and Belfort makes him ideally suited a war movie.
In Revolutionary Road and Shutter Island, DiCaprio offered two very different portraits of men whose grasp on their lives and sanity were gradually loosening despite their best efforts. Carrying this same intensity into the world of war movies could allow the star to capture the mental toll that conflict takes on participants. Thus, Leonardo DiCaprio could make a rare movie that doesn’t unintentionally glamorize the spectacle of war.
