Today, November 11, 2015, he is celebrating his 41st birthday. As part of your language study trip to the U.S., LEC shares 11 things every fan of actor Leonardo DiCaprio needs to know about him.
According to several sources, the actor’s unusual first name is a tribute from his mother to Leonardo da Vinci.
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born on November 11, 1974, in Los Angeles, a city you might have the chance to explore on a language study trip to the U.S. with LEC.
The actor grew up in Los Feliz, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and later in Hollywood, a neighborhood synonymous with the American film industry.
Leonardo DiCaprio first gained attention on television for his role in the series *Growing Pains*, which was dubbed for French audiences as What's New, Doc?
He landed his very first film role in 1991: it was a horror movie called *Critters 3*.
After a cameo role in the film *Fleur de poison*, he starred opposite Robert De Niro in *Secret Wounds*.
That same year, he played Johnny Depp's disabled younger brother in *What's Eating Gilbert Grape*.
Leonardo DiCaprio didn't truly achieve A-list status until 1996, thanks to Romeo + Juliet by Australian director Baz Luhrmann, with whom he would collaborate again years later on The Great Gatsby.
Leonardo DiCaprio makes no secret of his admiration for Martin Scorsese, with whom he has already made five feature films: *Gangs of New York*, *The Aviator*, *The Departed*, *Shutter Island*, and *The Wolf of Wall Street*.
In 1997, he starred opposite Kate Winslet in what would become the second-biggest box office hit in cinema history after Avatar: Titanic.