I didn't used to think much of Leo, but really, in hindsight, it wasn't exactly his fault. The movies that made him a star (i.e.
Titanic, and to a lesser extent, Baz Luhrmann's
Romeo & Juliet) limited the audience's focus to how cute/sexy he is, which in the long run, didn't really help him much. As a young man (and I mean younger than he was in
Titanic), he got some great roles that actually allowed him to exhibit his acting talent, which is really quite considerable. Among those were these:
This Boy's Life (based on Tobias Woolf's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name),
The Basketball Diaries,
What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (with, wonder of wonders, Johnny Depp
), and
Total Eclipse (with Remus Lupin himself, David Thewlis).
After seeing each of those, my opinion of him began to change, and I'd decide to see or not see a movie with him based on the content of the given film, rather than on his presence (which, in most cases, resulted in the latter choice) or lack thereof. Now, after having seen him in
Gangs of New York,
The Departed, and
Blood Diamond, while he's still not a
huge favorite, I have much more respect for him as an actor, and am less likely to turn my nose up at a film he happens to be in.
