“The best actor of my generation” Leonardo DiCaprio is still touched by the disappearance of his idol 30 years later

News culture “The best actor of my generation” Leonardo DiCaprio is still touched by the disappearance of his idol 30 years later

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A hand-picked career

Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the most talented actors of his generationas evidenced by the successful films that have made up his career spanning more than 30 years. Like many actors, the American actor began with simple commercials in the late 80s before venturing into television series and his first films in the early 90s. His talent was first recognized by critics with his role in the film in 1993 Gilbert Grape, which he is nominated for at the Golden Globes, but these are it Romeo + Juliet from Baz Luhrmann et Titanic from James Cameron which will boost his career a few years later.

Since then, DiCaprio has rarely missed the mark when it comes to his filmography (probably because he is very cautious before committing to a project), which has given him the opportunity achieving numerous critical and commercial successes over the yearsas beginning, Django Unchained, The Wolf of Wall Streetor even The revenantwhich allowed him to achieve his first victory Oscar for Best Actor in 2016. Many see him as an unrivaled actor and the icon of a generation, but for Leonardo DiCaprio, This title goes to a person who is unfortunately no longer here today…

The best actor according to Leonardo DiCaprio

In an interview with esquireLeonardo DiCaprio has spoken about an actor who greatly influenced him early in his career. This actor is Phoenix Riverthe older brother of Joaquin Phoenixwhose career began in the early 1980s, his debut was very promising and he was quickly nominated for Golden Globes and Oscars for his role in At the end of the race. He even received the Best Actor award at the National Society of Film Critics Awards for My own private Idaho. Many critics including Roger Ebert et Gene SiskelHe recognized his talent before his career ended abruptly in October 1993.

“I grew up idolizing River Phoenix as the greatest actor of my generation. All I ever wanted was to be able to shake his hand. And one evening, at a party in Silver Lake, I saw him climbing a flight of stairs. It almost looked like a scene from Vertigo because I saw something in his face.

I’d never met him before – I’d always wanted to meet him, just talk to him for a moment – and he came up to me and I kind of froze. And then the crowd blocked my way, I looked back and he was gone. I went up and down the stairs, wondering where he had gone.

I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s like some kind of existential crisis, like I saw him disappear before my eyes, and it felt like a tragedy after losing this great influence for me and all my friends had.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Esquire

On the night of October 30-31, 1993, River Phoenix died of an overdose at the Viper Room, a nightclub in West Hollywood.. Fatefully, Leonardo DiCaprio briefly crossed his path that night for the first and last time. An unforgettable memory for DiCaprio, who still lives today considers River Phoenix to be the best actor of his generation.