Overview-
Leonardo DiCaprio has been one of Hollywood’s biggest actors in the last 20 years and could be seen as one of the last proper, traditional movie stars left. Starting out in TV, DiCaprio made his feature film debut in the 1993 This Boy’s Life, at just aged 17. Since then, he has gone on to star in 26 Hollywood blockbusters, accumulating 6 nominations by the Academy alone.
Due to Leonardo DiCaprio’s global success and spread in the types of roles he portrays; he is an interesting case study to use when analysing and debating the theories presented by Christine Geraghty during her work in defining stardom for film stars in the post-classical period. Through her work and that of other academics in the field, such as Richard Dyer, I will be analysing the ideas of star-as-professional and star-as-performer, looking into whether these are two separate entities, meaning a film star can only be seen as one, as Geraghty suggests. Or whether this idea has more depth than first thought, allowing for stars to move between the two throughout their career.
Therefore, moving through Leonardo DiCaprio’s career from 1993- present, I will select and analysis his roles and the way he decides, chooses and portrays his characters. Looking for evidence to suggest that Leonardo DiCaprio fits to only one of these two categories, or whether the evidence shows that he in fact has switched or continues to switch between the two categories present.
Throughout academic research into the star image, we are told that on-screen image is always split into variations of the “star vehicle” and “the method”. Both are presented by Richard Dyer (1979/1998), stating that the “star vehicle” is the idea that ‘films were often built around star images’ with the ‘vehicle provide[ing] a character type associated with the star’ (Dyer, 1979/1998:62). He then states that “the method” links to the ‘ability to play different kinds of parts’ (ibid:77). These ideas were then re-labelled within Christine Geraghty’s work into re-examining stardom, where she labels the categories, star-as-professional and star-as-performer. Arguing that ‘for a star-as-professional a stable star image is of crucial importance. Too much difference from established star image may lead to disappointment’ (Geraghty, 2000:189), and that for star-as-performer ‘skills and performance elements are not hidden but drawn attention to’ (ibid:187). However, although creating solid frameworks for positioning actors, both the pieces of work never lean on the idea of an actor being able to move between the two. Therefore, within this research I have used Leonardo DiCaprio as a case study of an actor who can be seen to move from a star-as-professional to a star-as-performer.
Leonardo DiCaprio made his feature film debut in 1993, going on to play multiple roles before 2000, including, This Boy’s Life (1993), Romeo and Juliet (1996) and Titanic (1997). Focusing on these three alone, this period of his career can be seen as a perfect example of the star-as-professional stated above. When looking into the description of the roles, we see that in This Boy’s Life DiCaprio plays a ‘rebellious 1950s teenager’ (IMDB, 2021), Romeo and Juliet portray the main lead roles as two rebellious teenagers who ‘meet and fall in love’ (LEONARDODICAPRIO, no date) and finally, in Titanic he can be seen as a ‘free-spirited young steerage passenger’ (LEONARDODICAPRIO, no date) who falls in love. This shows there is a ‘deliberate creation/ manufacture of a particular image or image-context for a particular star’ (Dyer, 1979/1998:60). This idea is also supported by an Andrew Marr interview (2014), where Marr states that since his ‘first break through film Titanic and that period when you were the matinee idol’ (The Andrew Marr Show, 2014).
After this period of focus as a teenage heartthrob, Leonardo DiCaprio moved out of this constructed star image, not into that of a star-as-performer, but instead into another constructed period of his career which saw him become the action star. This period resulted in DiCaprio’s star image changing due to the ‘combination of a particular star image with a particular film context.’ (Geraghty, 2000:189). Within this period, I will focus on another three films to understand the image he was portraying. Firstly, we saw DiCaprio portray ‘an undercover cop and mole in the police’ (IMDB, 2021) in The Departed (2006), then in Blood Diamond (2006) DiCaprio is ‘an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe’ (LEONARDODICAPRIO, no date). Finally, in Body of Lies (2008), he can be seen as ‘a CIA agent on the ground in Jordan’ (IMDB, 2021). This switch to becoming an action hero does show elements of Dyers idea of “the method” as he has the ‘ability to play different kinds of parts’ (Dyer, 1979/1998:77). However, it can be argued that it is not truly a switch to the method as Leonardo DiCaprio can still be seen to have elements of himself within the roles. This is supported by King (1985) has he states that “the method” ‘leads to the norm of impersonation. This states that in playing any character, the “real” personality of the actor should disappear into the part’ (King, 1985:70).
However, although obvious that Leonardo DiCaprio failed once at the transition, I believe that DiCaprio’s appearance in Django Unchained (2012) marked his switch into “the method”. Again, I will take three roles he has played in this period but instead of diving into all three at the same time, I will take each individual role and analyse how his performance further fits the framework of the star-as-performer. Starting with Django Unchained, Leonardo DiCaprio can be seen to play ‘Calvin Candie, the proprietor of “Candyland”, an infamous plantation’ (LEONARDODICAPRIO, no date). This role shows a shift from the previous star images; however, the performance on-screen and the dedication to the role truly shows the shift. When taking about DiCaprio’s main scene in the film Samuel L. Jackson states that ‘ “Leo lost his voice a couple of times” ‘ , DiCaprio added saying that he slammed his hand down onto a glass and that ‘ “my hand started really pouring blood all over the table… I wanted to keep going” ‘ (Appelo, 2012). This dedication to the role is further explored as Geraghty states that the ‘promise that every gesture and grimace carries meaning in terms of character if not of narrative, the inarticulate speech which the audience has to strain for, the moments of stillness and silence where action might be anticipated’ (Geraghty, 2000:193). This idea will be further expanded on when we explore DiCaprio’s role in The Revenant (2015). However, when looking into the glass break and real blood in more detail, Phillip Drake (2006) explains how this moment of improvisation helps build a performance, stating that to make the performance believable the ‘deployment of what Goffman calls “Involuntary expressive behaviour”, where performers attempt to give the impression that their actions are spontaneous’ (Drake, 2006:89). The improvisation and dedication are key indicators of an actor who is embracing their performance and shows how DiCaprio shifted to a performance of a star-as-performer.
This dedication to a role is further explored in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), based on the ‘true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government’ (IMDB, 2021). DiCaprio can be seen in this performance more than any other to fully impersonate the role, due to it being based of a true story and therefore make it accurate. When asked about the role ‘DiCaprio revealed how “freeing” it felt to play a character with so few morals’ (Mullaney, 2020). This idea of impersonating someone different to yourself links to Kings (1985) theory that ‘impersonation “frees” the actor for a range of parts in so far as it suppresses what in non-actors would be regarded as the authenticating markers of their personality’ this therefore allows for ‘the construction of difference in acting styles’ (King, 1985:172). This allows for the audience to perceive the actor as the role alone, instead of being reminded that its DiCaprio playing them. Finally, on the Kermode and Mayo radio show (2014), DiCaprio states how ‘this film was very much an adrenaline dump for me’ (Kermode and Mayo, 2014). Showing the link between the actor’s dedication to a role and the positioning of them as a star-as-performer.
Taking this to the extreme, Leonardo DiCaprio’s role in The Revenant (2015) as a ‘frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s’ (IMDB, 2021), perfectly shows how ‘to be good, the actor must “live the part” ’ (Bulter,1991:18), of the role. Within the film Leonardo DiCaprio role is ‘an almost completely silent one’ (Eisenberg, 2015), therefore linking to the ideas of Geraghty (2000) as she states ‘the emphasis on emotion expressed through gesture and sound (rather than words) … use of the body as spectacle; the emphasis on inner character was consonant with cinema’s promotion of stars as unique and authentic individuals’ (Geraghty, 2000:192). Therefore, by displaying the performance through the emotions and gestures, DiCaprio is replying on his level of acting and dedication to creating a convincing role. An interview on The Ellen Show (2016), shows this as Ellen says that ‘‘I thought you were that guy; you just disappear into that character’ (The Ellen Show,2016). Although the character displayed dedication through the visual portrayal, the true dedication came off screen. In the same interview with Ellen, DiCaprio states that ‘we really submerged ourselves in nature and the natural world, in the elements, and we spent 9 months there… it was the most difficult professional undertaking that I’ve ever had’ (ibid,2016). This dedication was finally rewarded with DiCaprio winning an Oscar for Best Actor. Again, this shows how as an actor he has changed from the star-as-professional who portrays the similar roles in his films to a star-as-performer who dedicated himself 100% to each, completely different role on and off screen.
Overall, this research into Leonardo DiCaprio’s career has shown how he has been able to not just change his star image within the star-as-professional category, but also move completely, into becoming star-as-performer. Using the frameworks of theories suggested by Geraghty and Dyer, I have been able to expand and give a contemporary case study of how their theories are still relevant, yet require updating due to the categories being no longer being two separate entities.
Bibliography-
'Clip from Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review: with Colin Firth', Kermode and Mayo's Film Review, with Colin Firth, 14:00 10/01/2014, BBC Radio 5, 120 mins. 00:48:57-00:50:22. Available At: https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/clip/196285?bcast=105663160 (Accessed: 23 March 2021).
'Clip from The Andrew Marr Show', The Andrew Marr Show, 09:00 12/01/2014, BBC1 London, 60 mins. 00:37:42-00:38:59. Available at: https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/clip/195348?bcast=105737400 (Accessed: 23 March 2021).
'Clip from The Ellen DeGeneres Show', The Ellen DeGeneres Show, 13:45 16/06/2016, ITV2, 50 mins. 00:19:53-00:26:10. Available at: https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/clip/196300?bcast=121895750 (Accessed: 23 March 2021).
Appelo, T (2012) ‘Django’ to the Extreme: How Panic Attacks and DiCaprio’s Real Blood Made a Slavery Epic Better. Available at: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/quentin-tarantinos-django-unchained-how-404160 (Accessed: 23 March 2021).
Bulter, J (1991) ‘When Acting is an Art’, Star Texts: Image and Performance in Film and Television. 18-33.
Drake, P (2006) 'Reconceptualizing Screen Performance', Journal of Film and Video, 58(1-2), pp. 1-4.
Dyer, R (1979/1998) ‘Stars’, pp. 60-85.
Eisenberg, E (2015) So, Leonardo DiCaprio Isn’t Really Going To Talk In His New Movie. Available at: https://www.cinemablend.com/new/So-Leonardo-DiCaprio-Isn-t-Really-Going-Talk-His-Movie-72703.html (Accessed: 23 March 2021).
Geraghty, C (2000) ‘Re-Examining Stardom: Questions of Texts, Bodies and Performances’, Re-Inventing Film Studies. pp. 183-202.
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LEONARDODICAPRIO (no date) Blood Diamond. Available at: https://leonardodicaprio.com/blood-diamond/ (Accessed: 23 March 2021).
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Filmography-
This Boy’s Life (1993)
Romeo and Juliet (1996)
Titanic (1997)
The Departed (2006)
Blood Diamond (2006)
Body of Lies (2008)
Django Unchained (2012)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
The Revenant (2015)
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