leonardo dicaprio

When Leonardo was only a year old, his parents divorced and he moved to Echo Park in L.A., an area that was, at the time, a very seedy, drug-addled neighbourhood. This wouldn't slow him down from realizing his dreams of performing, however; he made his first television appearance on "Romper Room," his favourite show, when he was only 5 - and was very nearly thrown off the set because, well, he was being a bit of a brat.

After appearing in a hefty list of commercials, he made his feature film debut as Josh in 1991's "Critters 3," a B horror movie about angry, porcupine-like aliens. He also landed a recurring role the television show "Growing Pains," where he finally became a recognizable personality, but it was his appearance as Toby in "This Boy's Life" alongside Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin that brought him into the spotlight. The role nearly won him a Best Supporting Actor award from both the Golden Globes and the New York Film Critics. His first Academy Award nomination came that same year for his portrayal of the mentally handicapped Arnie in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape." Since then DiCaprio has largely tried to restrict the roles he has played to more artistic ones, portraying a junkie in "The Basketball Diaries," Romeo Montague in Baz Luhrman's "Romeo + Juliet," and Jack Dawson in "Titanic" with Kate Winslet, which tied with "Ben Hur" for the most Academy Award nominations.

He is nominated for his leading role in Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator."

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