Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio born November 11 1974 is an American actor and film producer Known for his work in biopics and period films DiCaprio is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award a British Academy Film Award and three Golden Globe Awards As of 2019 his films have grossed over 72 billion worldwide and he has been placed eight times in annual rankings of the worlds highestpaid actors Born in Los Angeles DiCaprio began his career in the late 1980s by appearing in television commercials In the early 1990s he had recurring roles in various television shows such as the sitcom Parenthood and had his first major film part as author Tobias Wolff in This Boys Life 1993 At age 19 he received critical acclaim and his first Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations for his performance as a developmentally disabled boy in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape 1993 He achieved international stardom with the starcrossed romances Romeo Juliet 1996 and Titanic 1997 After the latter became the highestgrossing film at the time he reduced his workload for a few years In an attempt to shed his image of a romantic hero DiCaprio sought roles in other genres including crime drama in Catch Me If You Can 2002 and Gangs of New York 2002 the latter marked the first of his many successful collaborations with director Martin Scorsese DiCaprio portrayed Howard Hughes in The Aviator 2004 and received acclaim for his performances in the political thriller Blood Diamond 2006 the crime drama The Departed 2006 and the romantic drama Revolutionary Road 2008 In the following decade DiCaprio starred in several highprofile directors projects including the science fiction thriller Inception 2010 the western Django Unchained 2012 the biopic The Wolf of Wall Street 2013 the survival drama The Revenant 2015 for which he won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the comedydrama Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2019 all of which were critical and commercial successes DiCaprio is the founder of Appian Way Productions a production company that has produced some of his films and the documentary series Greensburg 20082010 and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting environmental awareness He regularly supports charitable causes and has produced several documentaries on the environment In 2005 he was named a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his contributions to the arts and in 2016 he appeared in Time magazines 100 most influential people in the world