cinema,film,biography,pic,actor

2007-07-24T23:31:00.002-07:00

Tom Hanks
(1956 - )
Biography from Baseline

Thom Hanks
Actor
Also : Directore
Thomas J. Hanks
July 9, 1956, Concord, CA

A genial, blandly attractive actor, Hanks has proven equally adept at comedy and drama and in the 1990s has emerged as one of Hollywood's most acclaimed and best-loved performers. Raised by his father, a cook, Hanks spent most of his formative years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He began acting in high school and dropped out of college in 1977 to intern with the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival in Cleveland, OH. Hanks stayed for three seasons before moving East and making his New York debut as Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew at the Riverside Theater. Mainstream exposure came with his casting as Kip/Buffy Wilson opposite Peter Scolari in the sitcom "Bosom Buddies" (ABC, 1980-82), about a pair of slippery, wisecracking ad men forced to cross-dress in order to keep a cheap apartment in a NYC women's hotel.
Hanks found immediate stardom with his first leading movie role, opposite a be-finned Daryl Hannah in Ron Howard's mermaid comedy, SPLASH (1984). The funny, if relentlessly sophomoric BACHELOR PARTY (1984) was followed by a handful of misfires, including THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE (1985), VOLUNTEERS (1985), and THE MONEY PIT (1986). In 1988, Hanks displayed his versatility with two acclaimed performances: the volatile, caustic, ambitious, yet talented stand-up comedian in PUNCHLINE and as a teenager trapped in the body of a 35 year old man in Penny Marshall's BIG. The latter role, which earned Hanks an Oscar nomination as Best Actor, capitalized on his youthful charm, though it also fixed him—perhaps permanently—with the label "boyish."
Hanks's post-BIG attempts to play against type have met with mixed results. His casting as Wall Street heavyweight Sherman McCoy was considered one of the crucial misjudgments that scuttled Brian DePalma's adaptation of BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES (1990). Another attempt to shed his nice-guy image, in A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992, also directed by Marshall), was more successful, though Hanks' boozing, tobacco-chewing, ex-ballplayer routine convinced moviegoers more than it did critics.
Hanks continued the series of big boxoffice hits inaugurated by LEAGUE by moving back to gentler territory, returning to romantic comedies with the cross-country romance SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993), which teamed him with Meg Ryan and managed to suggest the loneliness of the aging "boy" who has found it hard to meet people. His choice of roles ventured into even sadder—and considerably more ambitious—territory with Jonathan Demme's well-intentioned PHILADELPHIA (1993), in which Hanks played a gay man fired from his job when it is discovered that he has AIDS. His "American boy" image, in this film shown to be crushed by an uncaring system, appealed to Oscar voters who named him the year's Best Actor.
Hanks followed with the whimsically genteel and populist smash hit FORREST GUMP (1994) that moved him even further into child-man territory as it showed his character's survival and triumph despite his innate limitations. FORREST GUMP went on to become the year's biggest grossing picture and won six Academy Awards including a second Best Actor citation for Hanks. Fresh from this triumph, Hanks portrayed astronaut Jim Lovell in Ron Howard's APOLLO 13 (1995) which depicted the ill-fated 1970 space expedition. As the flight commander, Hanks anchored the film and won yet another round of critical praise. He also voiced Woody, the cowboy threatened by Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), in John Lasseter's computed-generated animation wonder TOY STORY (also 1995). Hanks made his feature screenwriting and directing debut with THAT THING YOU DO, the story of 1960s rock-and-roll band, in which he also appears.

Tom Hanks
(1956 - )
Filmography from

1981 HE KNOWS YOU'RE ALONE performer
1982 MAZES AND MONSTERS performer
1984 BACHELOR PARTY performer
1984 SPLASH performer
1985 THE MAN WITH ONE RED SHOE performer
1985 VOLUNTEERS performer
1986 EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE performer
1986 THE MONEY PIT performer
1986 NOTHING IN COMMON performer
1987 DRAGNET performer
1988 BIG performer
1988 PUNCHLINE performer
1989 THE 'BURBS performer
1989 TURNER & HOOCH performer
1990 THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES performer
1990 JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO performer
1992 A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN performer
1992 RADIO FLYER performer
1993 PHILADELPHIA performer
1993 SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE performer
1994 FORREST GUMP performer
1995 APOLLO 13 performer
1995 TOY STORY performer

Tom Hanks
(1956 - )
Academy Awards®

© A.M.P.A.S.®
Nominated for Actor 1988: BIG
Actor 1993: PHILADELPHIA
Actor 1994: FORREST GUMP

2007-07-24T23:31:00.001-07:00

Robert De Niro
(1943 - )
Biography from Baseline
Actor,Director
August 17, 1943, New York, NY

One of the most gifted actors of the post-Brando generation and often regarded as Brando's heir, Robert De Niro combines the qualities of exceptional movie actors—danger, unpredictability, magnetism—with a distinctive touch of nihilism. The son of abstract expressionist artist Robert De Niro and painter Virginia Admiral, he studied drama with Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg and appeared in several off-Broadway productions early in his career. Robert De Niro's first screen appearances came in films directed by Brian De Palma; his roles in GREETINGS (1968), THE WEDDING PARTY (1969) and HI, MOM! (1970) displayed signs of the defiance and irreverence which typified his later work. Other glimpses of what would become signature Robert De Niro characteristics were visible in his portrayals of a moody, drug-addicted criminal in BLOODY MAMA (1970) and a charmingly roguish small-time thief in THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT (1971).
De Niro was riveting as a slow-witted, dying baseball player in BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY (1973). Many critics, however, date his breakthrough to his small gem of a performance in Martin Scorsese's MEAN STREETS (1973), as the irresponsible—and irrepressible—Johnny Boy. In THE GODFATHER PART II (1974), De Niro faced the challenge of depicting a young version of one of cinema's most familiar characters—Don Vito Corleone, originally played by Marlon Brando. De Niro's performance, which won him a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, was a masterpiece of nuanced gestures, glances and speech patterns that captured the pride and inner reserve of Brando's mature GODFATHER. An equally astonishing portrayal was his enigmatic steelworker-turned-Green Beret in Michael Cimino's THE DEER HUNTER (1978), a compelling central performance that held the entire film together.
The De Niro-Scorsese collaboration has produced some of modern American cinema's most memorable performances— the deranged Travis Bickle in TAXI DRIVER (1976), the jazz saxophonist Jimmy Doyle in NEW YORK, NEW YORK (1977), the boxer Jake La Motta in RAGING BULL, (1980, a tour de force which won him a Best Actor Oscar), the frustrated comic Rupert Pupkin in THE KING OF COMEDY (1983) and the small-time mobster Jimmy Conway in GOODFELLAS (1990). Remarkably, Robert De Niro recorded the reprehensible qualities of these characters without losing sight of their humanity. Travis Bickle's crazed in-the-mirror monologue ("You talkin' to me?"), so chilling because it is so recognizably human, became a touchstone of modern technique.
De Niro is at his best when he can suggest a man on the edge, struggling with his demons, as he did with the obsessed but kindhearted bounty hunter in MIDNIGHT RUN (1988) and the caring but mercurial Vietnam veteran in JACKNIFE (1989). Just the suggestion of this struggle made his loony rebel cameo in BRAZIL (1985) memorable and has allowed him to create effective characters in films that were otherwise less than entirely successful: the ambitious monsignor in TRUE CONFESSIONS (1981); the reflective gangster in ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA (1984); and the militant Jesuit priest in THE MISSION (1986). His attempts at playing unambiguously evil characters (ANGEL HEART and THE UNTOUCHABLES both 1987) have been less fruitful, as have his portrayals of passive figures (THE LAST TYCOON and 1900 both 1976, FALLING IN LOVE, 1984, STANLEY & IRIS, 1990, MAD DOG AND GLORY, 1993).
De Niro has become less selective in his recent film roles, reportedly in an effort to finance his own film and TV projects. He contributed little that was new or revealing to Penny Marshall's AWAKENINGS (1990) and barely broke a sweat for Ron Howard's BACKDRAFT (1991). Even his seventh collaboration with Scorsese, CAPE FEAR (1991), was a marked step down. Improbably combining disparate elements of two celebrated Robert Mitchum performances (in the original CAPE FEAR 1962 and NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, 1955), De Niro created a Max Cady who was more monster than man. His increasingly bizarre and malicious antics as he bedevils the family of Nick Nolte seemed more appropriate for a Brian De Palma black comedy or Carpenter potboiler than a work by a leading "serious" filmmaker. Nonetheless De Niro's name continued to signify "Quality" to many reviewers and audiences. However, De Niro's notoriety has rarely translated into box-office success for his non-Scorsese-directed vehicles.
Although the early 90s proved a rocky period for De Niro's acting career, he appeared in a series of films that made little impact with the press or public. This period, however, marked the first flowering of his efforts as a filmmaker. De Niro enhanced his reputation as a champion of New York film production with his Tribeca Film Center, where his own Tribeca Films company was housed, which became a hub of the city's nascent resurgent production community. In 1992, he produced actor Barry Primus' low-budget directorial debut, MISTRESS, as well as the more ambitious THUNDERHEART. The former, in which De Niro portrayed an urbane film financier, was largely dismissed as a poor man's version of THE PLAYER while the latter, in which De Niro did not appear, was a rather well-received fact-inspired story of a Native American FBI agent grappling with questions of identity while working on a culturally sensitive case.
De Niro segued into TV production as the executive producer of "Tribeca" (Fox, 1993), a short-lived dramatic anthology series set and shot on the streets of downtown NYC. He employed the talents of several actors turned directors— Barry Primus, Melanie Mayron and Joe Morton— to helm some episodes.
De Niro made his own feature directorial debut with A BRONX TALE (1993) on which he also served as producer and co-star. Adapted and expanded from a one-man show by actor-writer Chazz Palminteri, the film was set in the Italian-American community of the Bronx in the 60s. Palminteri won notice for his central portrayal of a flashy neighborhood gangster while De Niro uncharacteristically played the less flamboyant role of a honest laborer. Despite a troubled and extended production, the film earned respectful reviews if tepid box-office receipts.
De Niro had appeared in films produced by Irwin Winkler as far back as 1971's THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT, so it seemed natural for De Niro to star in Winkler's feature debut as a writer-director, GUILTY BY SUSPICION (1991). This overly familiar tale of the Hollywood Blacklist was mediocre in execution, and De Niro failed to rise above it with his portrayal of a hotshot director. Tribeca produced Winkler's next directorial outing, an adequate updating of the 1950 film noir classic NIGHT AND THE CITY (1992). De Niro starred as Harry Fabian, a frenetic ambulance-chasing lawyer who attempts to make a score as a boxing promoter. He received generally positive notices but some reviewers found him too old for the part and thought that he and female lead Jessica Lange lacked chemistry.
The romantic comedy-drama MAD DOG AND GLORY (1993) offered a change of pace as De Niro played a nebbishy crime scene photographer for the Chicago Police Department who saves the life of an exuberant and stylish gangster (Bill Murray). The urbane thug shows his appreciation by lending him a lovely bartender from his club (Uma Thurman) for a week. Of course, the pair fall in love. This role marked a rare instance in which De Niro was effective as a sympathetic romantic partner. His performance in THIS BOY'S LIFE (also 1993) returned to more familiar psychological territory—albeit with a rustic twist. As Dwight Hansen, the dreaded stepfather of the young Toby Wolff (Leonardo DiCaprio), De Niro effectively segued from an eccentric rube to a terrifying authoritarian. However, young DiCaprio won the film's best notices.
After the commercial disappointment of A BRONX TALE, De Niro tried his hand at headlining what must have appeared to be a commercial project at the time, MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN (1994). The press buzzed about what interpretation the esteemed Method actor would bring to the cinema's most famous creature. De Niro proved effective as an articulate and sympathetic monster but the film was slammed for director Kenneth Branagh's over-the-top operatic pretensions and died at the box office. A reteaming with Martin Scorsese and RAGING BULL co-star Joe Pesci for CASINO (1995), a violent tale of gangsters in 1960s Las Vegas, offered the opportunity for a return to form. De Niro commanded the screen with his portrayal of a transplanted Chicago bookie who experiences both his greatest success and failure in that fabled city in the desert. De Niro wrapped up 1995 starring opposite Al Pacino— the first onscreen pairing of this powerhouse duo who were both featured in Francis Ford Coppola's classic sequel, THE GODFATHER PART II (1974), but never in the same scene— in Michael Mann's highly stylized crime drama HEAT. Here De Niro was a hardened career criminal pursued by Pacino's driven police detective.

Robert De Niro
(1943 - )
Filmography

1968 GREETINGS performer
1969 SAM'S SONG/THE SWAP performer
1969 THE WEDDING PARTY performer
1970 BLOODY MAMA performer
1970 HI, MOM!/CONFESSIONS OF A PEEPING JOHN/BLUE MANHATTAN performer
1971 BORN TO WIN/ADDICT performer
1971 THE GANG THAT COULDN'T SHOOT STRAIGHT performer
1971 JENNIFER ON MY MIND performer
1973 BANG THE DRUM SLOWLY performer
1973 MEAN STREETS performer
1974 THE GODFATHER PART II performer
1976 THE LAST TYCOON performer
1976 TAXI DRIVER performer
1977 1900/NOVECENTO performer
1977 NEW YORK, NEW YORK performer
1978 THE DEER HUNTER performer
1979 THE SWAP performer
1980 RAGING BULL performer
1981 ACTING: LEE STRASBERG AND THE ACTORS STUDIO performer
1981 TRUE CONFESSIONS performer
1983 THE KING OF COMEDY performer
1984 FALLING IN LOVE performer
1984 ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA performer
1985 BRAZIL performer
1986 THE MISSION performer
1987 ANGEL HEART performer
1987 DEAR AMERICA: LETTERS HOME FROM VIET NAM performer
1987 HELLO ACTORS STUDIO performer
1987 THE UNTOUCHABLES performer
1988 MIDNIGHT RUN performer
1989 JACKNIFE performer
1989 WE'RE NO ANGELS executive producer, performer
1990 AWAKENINGS performer
1990 GOODFELLAS performer
1990 HOLLYWOOD MAVERICKS performer
1990 STANLEY & IRIS performer
1991 BACKDRAFT performer
1991 CAPE FEAR performer
1991 GUILTY BY SUSPICION performer
1992 MISTRESS producer, performer
1992 NIGHT AND THE CITY performer
1992 THUNDERHEART producer
1993 A BRONX TALE producer, director, performer
1993 MAD DOG AND GLORY performer
1993 THIS BOY'S LIFE performer
1994 MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN/FRANKENSTEIN associate producer
1995 CASINO performer
1995 HEAT performer
1996 FAITHFUL co-producer
Robert De Niro
(1943 - )
Academy Awards®

© A.M.P.A.S.®
Supporting Actor 1974: THE GODFATHER PART II
Nominated for Actor 1976: TAXI DRIVER
Nominated for Actor 1978: THE DEER HUNTER
Actor 1980: RAGING BULL
Nominated for Actor 1990: AWAKENINGS
Nominated for Actor 1991: CAPE FEAR

2007-07-24T23:30:00.001-07:00

Nicolas Cage
(1964 - )
Biography from Baseline

Actor
Nicolas Coppola
January 7, 1964, Long Beach, CA

Engaging, sleepy-eyed American star, a nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola, who graduated from teenage parts in VALLEY GIRL (1983) and his uncle's underrated RUMBLE FISH (1983) to a series of effective, idiosyncratic leading roles.
Cage first made serious dramatic waves opposite Matthew Modine in BIRDY (1984), Alan Parker's duet for emotionally scarred Vietnam veterans. His callow 1950s rocker in Coppola's nostalgic PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED (1986) was not praised at the time, but now seems like a skillful caricature. His goofier qualities again assumed center stage in the Coen brothers' screwball comedy RAISING ARIZONA (1987) and David Lynch's odyssey, WILD AT HEART (1990).
Although critics were divided on Cage's work as the inarticulate but philosophical baker in the popular MOONSTRUCK (1987), they united with the public in ignoring AMOS & ANDREW (1993), but his wacky charm was central to the success of Andrew Bergman's comedy, HONEYMOON IN VEGAS (1992). Returning to the Nevada city in Mike Figgis' LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1995), he delivered a multi-layered award-winning performance as an alcoholic writer. Bringing warmth and humor to what could have been an unsympathetic role, Cage earned some of the best notices of his career.
Nicolas Cage
(1964 - )
Filmography

1982 FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH performer
1983 RUMBLE FISH performer
1983 VALLEY GIRL performer
1984 BIRDY performer
1984 THE COTTON CLUB performer
1984 RACING WITH THE MOON performer
1986 THE BOY IN BLUE performer
1986 PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED performer
1987 MOONSTRUCK performer
1987 RAISING ARIZONA performer
1989 NEVER ON TUESDAY performer
1989 TEMPO DI UCCIDERE performer
1989 VAMPIRE'S KISS performer
1990 FIREBIRDS performer
1990 WILD AT HEART performer
1991 ZANDALEE performer
1992 HONEYMOON IN VEGAS performer
1993 AMOS & ANDREW performer
1993 DEADFALL performer
1993 RED ROCK WEST performer
1994 GUARDING TESS performer
1994 IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU performer
1994 TRAPPED IN PARADISE performer
1995 KISS OF DEATH performer
1995 LEAVING LAS VEGAS performer

Nicolas Cage
(1964 - )
Academy Awards®

© A.M.P.A.S.®
Actor 1995: LEAVING LAS VEGAS

2007-07-24T23:27:00.000-07:00

Charlton Heston
(1924 )
Biography from Baseline
Actor
Also: Director, producer
Born As: Charles Carter
October 4, 1924, Evanston, IL

Commanding male lead, a one-person Hollywood trek through the pages of world history and a forceful, Republican vision of a world in which America always wins. An acting student at Northwestern, Charlton Heston first acted on film in a student production of PEER GYNT (1941). After WWII service, he and wife Lydia Clarke worked as models in New York and ran a theatre in Asheville, NC, before Heston found success on Broadway in Katherine Cornell's production of Antony and Cleopatra (1947). He also made a vivid impression on early TV, especially in a flurry of dashing romantic leads (Heathcliff, Rochester, Petruchio) on the famous drama anthology Studio One. By the time he went to Hollywood to act in William Dieterle's moody film noir DARK CITY (1950) Heston was already a star, indeed was listed in the credits over the more established Lizabeth Scott. Over the next four decades he rarely had less than top billing.
With his role as the ill-tempered circus manager in his second film, Cecil B. DeMille's THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952), Heston began his reign as the actor of choice for Hollywood epics. Solidly built, but with a lithe walk, boasting an iron jaw, a granite-carved profile and a voice to go with them, he could intimidate opponents with just a glare. Few actors could dish up righteous anger with such force, yet even though many of his screen creations could be unpleasantly hostile, the power of his presence invariably commanded respect, conveyed integrity (even in villainous roles) and often managed to be likable. There was something timeless about his rueful expression and his brand of gritty heroism. At the same time, though, he glorified a concept of the power of the individual which was perfectly in step with middle America's vision of how the world should be.
Consequently, even though Heston never quite disappeared into his roles, he was perfect for Hollywood's writing of an Americanized world history picture book and its equally splashy renditions of the Bible. Beginning with his take on Buffalo Bill in THE PONY EXPRESS (1953), Heston's gallery of historical and Biblical characters included Andrew Jackson (THE PRESIDENT'S LADY, 1953, THE BUCCANEER, 1958), Moses (in Cecil B. DeMille's landmark second version of THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, 1956, EL CID (in the 1961 film of that title), Thomas Jefferson (THE PATRIOTS, TV 1963) John the Baptist (THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, 1965), Major Amos Dundee (MAJOR DUNDEE, 1965), Michelangelo (THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY, 1965), General Charles Gordon (KHARTOUM, 1966), Cardinal Richelieu (THE THREE MUSKETEERS, 1974 and its 1975 sequel), Henry VIII (CROSSED SWORDS, 1978/THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER) and Sir Thomas More (A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, 1988). Indeed, it didn't really matter whether a charioteer named Judah Ben-Hur was actually transfixed by the sight of Christ or not; when history becomes Oscar-winning Heston legend (BEN-HUR, 1959), print the legend. As French critic Michel Mourlet infamously rhapsodized, "Charlton Heston is an axiom of the cinema."
Less indecisive and rebellious than Robert Mitchum, less Everymannish than William Holden, Heston, like these fellow 50s icons, was frequently called on to suffer, and frequently with his shirt off. Perhaps it all started with Moses making bricks, but Heston was still stripping down to either get down to work or be punished well into the 80s. As historical epics gradually became passe in the late 60s, Heston made more Westerns, war sagas and, interestingly, science fiction films to take up the slack. 1968 marked a banner year with two fine landmark roles: the anguished hero of the highly entertaining, futuristic PLANET OF THE APES, and the aging, reflective cowpoke of WILL PENNY, one of his finest films. The 70s brought the cult classic sci-fi pic SOYLENT GREEN (1973) ("It's people!!") and a series of roles in films such as MIDWAY (1976)/BATTLE OF MIDWAY and GRAY LADY DOWN (1978) in which he held the rank of major, colonel or general. Some later roles, though, traded in wastefully on his iconic value, as in his cameo in TRUE LIES (1994).
Heston first directed a feature in 1971 with a decent adaptation of ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA and again went behind the camera for MOTHER LODE. He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1966 to 1971 and later became chairman of the American Film Institute. Acting work in TV series ("The Colbys" 1985-87), miniseries (CHIEFS, 1983) and telefilms (PROUD MEN, 1987) kept him busy during the 80s, as did his role as the head of President Reagan's task force on the arts and humanities. Heston has remained active in charity work (as with The Will Rogers Institute) and politics and earned a reputation as a staunch Republican and a supporter of the National Rifle Association. Son Fraser Heston is a director, screenwriter and producer.
Filmography

Charlton Heston

1941 PEER GYNT performer
1949 JULIUS CAESAR performer
1950 DARK CITY performer
1952 THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH performer
1952 RUBY GENTRY performer
1952 THE SAVAGE performer
1953 ARROWHEAD performer
1953 BAD FOR EACH OTHER performer
1953 PONY EXPRESS performer
1953 THE PRESIDENT'S LADY performer
1954 THE NAKED JUNGLE performer
1954 SECRET OF THE INCAS performer
1955 THE FAR HORIZONS performer
1955 LUCY GALLANT performer
1955 THE PRIVATE WAR OF MAJOR BENSON performer
1956 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS performer
1956 THREE VIOLENT PEOPLE performer
1958 THE BIG COUNTRY performer
1958 THE BUCCANEER performer
1958 TOUCH OF EVIL performer
1959 BEN-HUR performer
1959 THE WRECK OF THE MARY DEARE performer
1961 EL CID performer
1962 DIAMOND HEAD performer
1962 THE PIGEON THAT TOOK ROME performer
1963 55 DAYS AT PEKING performer
1965 THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY performer
1965 THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD performer
1965 MAJOR DUNDEE performer
1965 THE WAR LORD performer
1966 KHARTOUM performer
1967 ALL ABOUT PEOPLE performer
1968 COUNTERPOINT performer
1968 PLANET OF THE APES performer
1968 WILL PENNY performer
1969 THE FESTIVAL GAME performer
1969 NUMBER ONE performer
1970 BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES performer
1970 THE HAWAIIANS performer
1970 JULIUS CAESAR performer
1970 KING: A FILMED RECORD… MONTGOMERY TO MEMPHIS performer
1971 THE OMEGA MAN performer
1971 VIETNAM! VIETNAM! performer
1972 CALL OF THE WILD performer
1972 SKYJACKED/SKY TERROR performer
1973 ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA director, adapted screenplay, performer
1973 SOYLENT GREEN performer
1974 AIRPORT 1975 performer
1974 EARTHQUAKE performer
1974 THE THREE MUSKETEERS performer
1975 THE FOUR MUSKETEERS performer
1976 AMERICA AT THE MOVIES performer
1976 THE LAST HARD MEN performer
1976 MIDWAY performer
1976 TWO MINUTE WARNING performer
1978 CROSSED SWORDS/THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER performer
1978 GRAY LADY DOWN performer
1980 THE AWAKENING performer
1980 THE MOUNTAIN MEN performer
1982 MOTHER LODE/SEARCH FOR THE MOTHER LODE: THE LAST GREAT TREASURE director, performer
1984 NAIROBI AFFAIR performer
1986 DIRECTED BY WILLIAM WYLER performer
1986 THE FANTASY FILM WORLD OF GEORGE PAL performer
1987 PROUD MEN performer
1988 A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS director, performer
1989 CALL FROM SPACE performer
1989 ORIGINAL SIN performer
1990 ALMOST AN ANGEL performer
1990 THE LITTLE KIDNAPPERS performer
1990 SOLAR CRISIS performer
1990 TREASURE ISLAND performer
1991 THE CRUCIFER OF BLOOD performer
1993 TOMBSTONE performer
1993 WAYNE'S WORLD 2 performer
1994 TRUE LIES performer
1995 AVENGING ANGEL performer
1995 IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS performer

Award
Charlton Heston
Academy Awards®

© A.M.P.A.S.®
Actor 1959: BEN-HUR
The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award 1977

2007-07-24T23:23:00.000-07:00

Leonardo DiCaprio
(1974)
Biography from Baseline

Occupation: Actor
Born as:Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio
BornNovember 11, 1974, Los Angeles, CA
Education: Center for Enriched Studies, Los Angeles, CA
This tall, slender, boyishly handsome young actor proved engaging in TV family sitcoms ("Parenthood," "Growing Pains") and endured a cheapie horror sequel film (CRITTERS 3, 1992) before triumphing over 400 other actors in a four-month casting search to win the role of Tobias Wolff in THIS BOY'S LIFE (1993). Based on Wolff's award-winning autobiographical novel, the story dealt with a boy's coming-of-age in the 1950s in an explosive domestic situation. The film also starred Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin, but young DiCaprio received the strongest notices. While the film fizzled at the box office, this boy's career was off and running.
DiCaprio was next cast alongside Johnny Depp in WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE (1993), Lasse Hallström's beautifully recorded version of Peter Hedges coming of age novel. The good looks of the green-eyed blond nearly lost him the part of the sloppy-looking Arnie, Gilbert's mentally challenged but cheerful younger brother. The 19-year-old actor again walked away with the best reviews and an Oscar nomination for his performance.
DiCaprio lost out to Christian Slater in his effort to land the small but essential role of the boy reporter in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES (1994). He tried his hand at another exceedingly stylish genre film with a supporting role opposite Sharon Stone in Sam Raimi's delirious meta-Western THE QUICK AND THE DEAD (1995). DiCaprio embodied the role of the Kid, the son of baddie Gene Hackman, with the appropriate verve and cynicism. He headed back to the margins to star in the long awaited (and profoundly disappointing) adaptation of THE BASKETBALL DIARIES (1995), Jim Carroll's gritty memoirs of a youth that incorporated good grades, local basketball stardom and heroin addiction. DiCaprio next starred as the young French poet Arthur Rimbaud in the film version of Christopher Hampton's play Total Eclipse (1995). This psychological drama traced the complex and sensual relationship between the youthful Rimbaud and his older mentor, Paul Verlaine (David Thewlis).

Award:

What's Eating Gilbert Grape
US (1993): Drama/Comedy
Leonard Maltin Review: 2.0 stars out of 4

117 min, Rated PG-13, Color, Available on videocassette and laserdisc

Middling slice-of-life about a young man in a dead-end town saddled with the responsibility of caring for his retarded younger brother, and depressed by his obese mother, who hasn't left the house in seven years. You keep thinking something significant is going to happen, but nothing ever does; still, there are some poignant vignettes and first-rate performances (especially by newcomer Cates, as the mom).

Film:

1992 CRITTERS 3 performer
1992 POISON IVY performer
1993 THIS BOY'S LIFE performer
1993 WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE performer
1995 THE BASKETBALL DIARIES performer
1995 A HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS performer
1995THE QUICK AND THE DEAD performer
1995 TOTAL ECLIPS performer

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