Leonardo DiCaprio: Oscar All-Time Snub
By this time everyone has seen the countless amount of memes and or gifs floating throughout the internet of how Leonardo DiCaprio longs for an Oscar win. No one can take away the fact that he is a phenomenal actor, yet having said that, then why has he not won an Oscar? It could be a multitude of reasons really. His over saturation of playing generally the same part of a charismatic young hot shot or the edgy and intense role has been his mainstays. Rarely does he challenge himself anymore. In fact, you could say he has not challenged himself since his younger days. At the Oscars they frequently reward the actors that go through a physical transformation or break the mold of the typical character that they usually play. For an example, look at Matthew McConaughey this year. He not only went through a physical transformation as he lost a lot of weight for the role but he also played a part that is not a usual role for him. Thus, he went home, rightfully, with the Oscar instead of DiCaprio. There is no doubting that he will eventually win his coveted award, but the best thing for him right now might just be to take a break from acting.
He has always been a gifted actor who also, in his earlier days, worked with incredibly talented actors. To start he worked with Robert de Niro who then introduced him to Martin Scorsese, and the two of them have worked together quite a bit now. So even though he is incredibly talented, he has always surrounded himself with other talented people. He worked with Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Baz Luhrmann, Tobey Maguire and many others. If you look back to some of his earlier roles, it is however even more perplexing that he has still not won an Oscar. One of his earliest films, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, he played a mentally challenged boy and his performance was so strong that when he arrived at the red carpet, people were surprised that he was not mentally challenged. Considering how DiCaprio has a tendency to take a certain kind of role, challenging himself like that would surely be rewarded. It is definitely a shame that he still has not won an award but looking back at this year and last, he has been placed up against actors that have truly deserved the role. He will not win an Oscar if he continues to play the same role over and over and hope that he wins on the merits of his previous work. Everyone knows he is a terrific actor, but if he truly wants that ever elusive award, he will have to change it up a bit.
