Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio was born in Hollywood, California and is the only child of former comic book artist George DiCaprio and Irmelin DiCaprio. His parents put him on the road to stardom early, signing him with a talent agency as a child and DiCaprio appeared in a number of television commercials and educational programs. He also appeared in small television roles on Roseanne and The New Lassie and his film debut was in the low-budget 1991 horror flick Critters 3. In 1992, he became part of the cast of the ABC sitcom Growing Pains as the young homeless boy the Seaver family took in.
It wasn’t until after the show was cancelled in 1992 that DiCaprio’s career took off. His breakout role came as a mentally-challenged teen opposite Johnny Depp in 1993’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and he also starred with Robert DeNiro and Ellen Barkin in the 1993 autobiographical drama This Boy’s Life. From then on, DiCaprio was on Hollywood’s radar and he is showing no signs of slowing down. He’s been nominated three times for an Academy Award and is a passionate advocate for humanitarian and environmental causes. In honor of his 39th birthday, here are my top 10 Leonardo DiCaprio movies.