Personal Profile 个人资料
Name: Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio
Date of birth: November 11, 1974
Place of birth: Hollywood, California
Education: John Marshall High School, Los Angeles
Hobbies: whitewater rafting (乘筏漂流), scuba diving (配戴水肺的潜水), bungee jumping (蹦极)，skydiving (跳伞运动)
Leonardo DiCaprio was destined2 from the beginning to be a wild and spirited boy. He received his first name after quickly kicking his mother in the womb3 as she admired a Leonardo da Vinci painting in an Italian museum. He was born in Hollywood, CA on the eleventh of November of 1974 to George and Irmelin DiCaprio. Leo was an only child, and his parents divorced4 each other within a year of his birth.
His mother is German and his father is Italian, and their backgrounds had a major influence on his growth. His father produces underground comic books5 out of his garage. His mother was a legal secretary before she began managing Leo's affairs. They might be best described as broad-minded hippies6: “Whatever I did would be something they'd already done. I mean, my dad would welcome it if I got a nose ring.” He remembers such household guests as comic-book artist Robert Crumb, writer Charles Bukowski, and novelist Hubert Selby, Jr. visiting as a child.
Leo was educated at the Center for Enriched Studies and John Marshall High School, both in LA. He often cheated in school (especially in math), and seemed more interested in entertaining his classmates than in doing his homework. “School, I never truly got the knack7 of. I could never focus on things I didn't want to learn. I used to, like, take half of the school and do break-dancing skits8 with my friend in front of them at lunchtime.”
But his troubles concentrating in school didn't kill his acting dreams. Leo's first acting appearance was on the television show Romper Room, at age five. However, he was dismissed from the set9 because of his uncontrollable behavior. At age ten, he went to a casting10 call but was coldly rejected. On the way home he cried to his father, “Dad, I really want to become an actor, but if this is what it's all about I don't want to do it.” Leo remembers his father put his arm around him and said, “Someday, Leonardo, it will happen for you. Remember these words. Just relax.”
When searching for an agent Leo was further discouraged by the commercialism11 of the industry; for example, one agent tried to alter his “wrong” haircut and change his name to Lenny Williams. Leo rejected the advice, and the agent. He was finally signed at the age of fourteen, and struggled to break into the movie industry through little-known commercials12 and educational films such as How to Deal with a Parent Who Takes Drugs and Mickey＇s Safety Club. He took part in over thirty commercials in all, and finally gained guest appearances on such television shows as Lassie, The Outsiders, Roseanne, and Parenthood. Though he was cast in his first movie in 1991, Leo would rather forget his minor13 and embarrassing contribution to Critters III altogether. At sixteen, he finally got a successful, regular role as a homeless boy in the teen TV series Growing Pains that lasted for a year. Though only a small part, Leo's performance proved he had great potential; he easily outshined14 the rest of the cast.
Leo's big break came in 1992, with his leading role as Tobias Wolff in This Boy＇s Life. Though Leo's natural, brilliant performance in this “coming of age”15 movie didn't hit home16 at the box office, he gained instant recognition as a talented rising actor. Leo received a few important awards for his performance and here began his rise to fame.
Now given the opportunity to be picky17 about his roles, Leo chooses them carefully. He welcomes help from his father in going through the easy, ordinary roles most actors happily accept. Leo has refused such commercially popular roles as Robin in Batman Forever, and continues to look for the more challenging dark roles such as Arnie Grape, the retarded18 teenager in What＇s Eating Gilbert Grape (for which he received an Academy Award nomination19 for Best Supporting Actor), the drug-troubled Jim Carrol in Basketball Diaries, and the homosexual20 French poet Arthur Rimbaud in Total Eclipse. In 1995 he played a proud young gunman in The Quick and the Dead with Sharon Stone. “I want to take my time with each role and that's how you plan a long career rather than doing it all at once in a big explosion. I turned down a lot of movies about death and a few cheesy21 little comedies as well.”
With the thrilling and modern-day adaptation22 of Romeo and Juliet by Baz Luhrman, DiCaprio finally began to reach out to a larger audience. For this movie he was given the Silver Berlin Bear Award for Best Actor. However, his career didn't truly explode until Titanic, the blockbuster23 movie that took home eleven Oscars and a record-breaking $1.8 billion at the box office. His good looks and outstanding acting skills made this romantic lover of the working class an instant idol24 around the world. Though Leo wasn't among the Oscar nominees for Titanic, he remained busy with promotional25 tours and starring in his new movie, The Man in the Iron Mask. After a small role in Woody Allen's Celebrity, Leo played the role of an American backpacker26 searching for a secret island in The Beach.
In December 2002, Leonardo appeared in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, a colorful historical film about 19th-century immigrant27 gangs that also stars Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day Lewis. Also being released28 was Catch Me If You Can directed by Steven Spielberg. Leonardo stars with Tom Hanks in this adaptation of the true story of Frank Abagnale, the youngest man ever on the FBI's Most Wanted List. Leo now has his own Los Angeles-based production company, and with Initial Entertainment Group, he will develop projects in which he will serve as producer and / or star. The first one could be Alexander, directed by Martin Scorsese.
Leo is a favorite of many professional and amateur critics because of his unique ability to play the “boy/man” border with such ease and naturalness. Though 28, Leo's boyish looks allow him to apply his learned experience and charm to younger roles that many of his competitors cannot handle29. “The best thing about acting is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get paid for it. It's a great outlet30. As for myself, I'm not sure who I am. It seems that I change every day.”
莱昂纳多·迪卡普里奥从一开始就注定是一个野性十足、生气虎虎的男孩。有一次他母亲在意大利的一家博物馆正欣赏莱昂纳多·达·芬奇的一幅油画，他突然在娘肚里踹了一脚，由此便得此名。他于1974年11月11日出生在加利福尼亚的好莱坞，父母分别是乔治·迪卡普里奥和埃默琳·迪卡普里奥。莱昂是独生子，父母在他出生后不到一年就离婚了。
他的母亲是德国人，父亲是意大利人；家庭背景对他的成长有重要影响。他的父亲在车库中制作地下连环漫画书。母亲在开始管理莱昂的事务之前是一名法律秘书。将二人称为洒脱不羁的嬉皮士最恰当不过：“无论我做了什么他们都早有先例。我的意思是，假如我挂了一个鼻环，爸爸也会欣然接受。”莱昂记得，小时候家里来的客人当中有连环漫画家罗伯特·克罗姆，作家查尔斯·布科夫斯基，还有小说家小休伯特·塞尔比。
莱昂是在强化学习中心和约翰·马歇尔中学受的教育，二者都在洛杉矶。他经常考试作弊（特别是数学），而且他对逗同学们开心的兴趣似乎大于做家庭作业。“学习的事，我从来没有真正地开窍过。我怎么也不能专心于我不愿学的东西。比如，我常常只上一半的课，午餐时间和朋友一道在同学面前跳滑稽霹雳舞。”
但是不能专心学习的毛病并没有扼杀他的演员梦。莱昂当演员的处子秀是在电视剧《嬉闹屋》中，年仅五岁。可是，他因无法管束自己的行为而被赶出摄影棚。十岁那年，他去应征过一次演员，但遭到冷漠的拒绝。在回家路上，他对父亲嚷道：“爸爸，我真的很想当演员，可如果情况总是这个样子我就不想了。”莱昂记得父亲用胳膊搂着他说：“总有一天，莱昂纳多，机会会降临到你头上。记住我说的话。别着急。”
在寻找经纪人的过程中，莱昂被这个行业的商业味弄得越发灰心。比如，有个经纪人试图改变他的“错误”发型，还要把他的姓名改成莱尼·威廉姆斯。莱昂拒绝了这个建议，并炒了那个经纪人。十四岁那年他终于签约了，并在一些不知名的广告片和教育片中奋力拼搏，如“怎样和吸毒的父母相处”和“米奇安全俱乐部”等，试图闯入电影圈。他一共参与了三十多部广告片的拍摄，并最终在一些电视剧中获得了客串的机会，如《少女》、《局外人》、《罗斯安妮》和《父母身份》等。尽管1991年他在《异形3》中获得第一个电影角色，但他宁可把那个令其尴尬的次要角色忘得干干净净。十六岁时，他终于在播出时间长达一年的少年连续剧《成长的烦恼》中得到一个成功的、正式的角色——一个无家可归的男孩。尽管那只是一个小配角，但莱昂的表演证明他有巨大的潜力；他的风头轻易地盖过了其他演员。
莱昂的重大突破出现在1992年，他在《这个男孩的生活》中饰演主角托拜厄斯·沃尔夫。虽然莱昂在这部标志着他“成年”的电影中自然、精湛的表演并未创造理想的票房价值，但他立刻赢得了人们的认可，被视为一名很有才华的演艺新星。莱昂为此获得了几个重要的奖项，并由此踏上了成名之路。
莱昂现在有了挑选角色的机会，他便认真地加以选择。他很欢迎父亲提供帮助，对那些大多数演员欣然接受的容易且平庸的角色进行筛选。莱昂拒绝了如 《永远的蝙蝠侠》中的罗宾之类的商业价值高的角色，继续寻找更有挑战性的阴郁角色，如《不一样的天空》中的弱智男孩亚尼·格雷普（为此他获得奥斯卡最佳男配角奖提名），《篮球日记》中被毒品困扰的吉姆·卡洛，以及《全蚀狂爱》中的法国同性恋诗人阿瑟·兰波。1995年他在《致命快感》中扮演一个年少轻狂的枪手，另一主角是莎朗·斯通。“我对每个角色都要斟酌一番，因为你得为事业做长远打算，而不是突然弄出个惊天动地就完了。我拒绝了很多打打杀杀的电影，还有一些低劣的小喜剧。”
随着巴兹·鲁赫曼导演的震撼力十足的现代版《罗密欧与朱丽叶》的推出，迪卡普里奥终于开始被更多的观众所接受。他因此片而荣获柏林电影节最佳男演员银熊奖。然而，他的事业直到《泰坦尼克》才实现真正的飞跃。这部轰动全球的巨片一举获得11项奥斯卡大奖以及创纪录的18亿美元的票房收入。凭着英俊的外貌和出色的演技，他使那位出身工人阶级的浪漫情人顷刻成为全世界的偶像。尽管莱昂本人并未因此获得奥斯卡奖的提名，但他仍忙于该片的巡回宣传，并在新片《铁面人》中担任主角。他在伍迪·艾伦导演的《名人》中饰演一个小角色，随后在《海滩》中扮演一个寻找神秘岛的美国背包旅行者。
2002年12月，莱昂纳多出现在马丁·斯科塞斯导演的《纽约黑帮》中。这是一部多姿多彩的历史影片，讲的是19世纪移民帮派的故事。联袂主演的有卡梅伦·迪亚兹和丹尼尔·戴·刘易斯。同期上映的是史蒂芬·斯皮尔伯格执导的《猫鼠游戏》。这是一部根据联邦调查局通缉要犯名单上有史以来最年轻的人——富兰克·阿巴格内尔的真实故事改编的电影，由莱昂纳多和汤姆·汉克斯共同主演。莱昂如今在洛杉矶成立了一家制片公司。他将和创始娱乐公司合作开发一些项目，他本人在其中担任制片人和 / 或演员。首部影片可能是《亚历山大》，由斯科塞斯导演。
莱昂受到许多职业和业余评论家的青睐，因为他有一种独特的能力，能够在“男孩 / 男人”的角色之间游刃有余、自然无痕。虽然莱昂已经28岁，但他孩子气的外表却令他能够运用习得的经验和魅力去胜任更年轻的角色，这是许多竞争对手无法把握的。“当演员的最大好处就是我能够把自己完全融入到另一个人物当中，而且还可切切实实地得到回报。这是一个自我满足的极好途径。至于我自己，我不敢肯定我是谁。我好像每天都在变。”
1. limelight n． 引人注目的中心
2． destined adj． 注定的
3． womb n． 子宫
4． divorce v． 离婚
5． comic book 连环画书
6． hippy n． 嬉皮士
7． knack n． 诀窍。此句倒装，即I never truly got the knack of school．
8． break dancing 霹雳舞
skit [skit] n． 小品，滑稽短剧
9． set [set] n． 摄影棚
10． casting n． 挑选演员，分配角色
11． commercialism n． 商业主义， 商业精神
12． commercial n． （广播、电视的）广告
13． minor adj． 次要的
14． outshine v． 超越，使相形见绌
15． come of age 成年
16． hit home 产生预期效果
17． picky adj． 挑剔的，过分讲究的
18． retarded adj． 智力迟钝的
19． nomination n． 任命，提名
20． homosexual adj． 同性恋的
21． cheesy adj． 质量低劣的
22． adaptation n． 改编本，改写本
23． blockbuster n． 轰动一时的事或人；耗巨资拍摄的影片
24． idol n． 偶像
25． promotional adj． 宣传的，推销的
26． backpacker n． 背包旅行者
27． immigrant adj． （从国外）移来的，移民的
28． release v． 公映，发行
29． handle v． 处理，操作
30． outlet n． 发泄或满足的途径