March 5, 2014

Column by Alexandria Zamecnik

Another Academy Awards ceremony has passed, and Leonardo DiCaprio walks away empty handed, for the fourth time.

During the 2014 Academy Awards, DiCaprio was nominated for two Oscars, both for his work in “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Neither nomination turned into a win.

Although Matthew McConaughey was expected to win Best Actor for his role in “Dallas Buyer’s Club,” a film about real-life AIDS patients and the medicine they receive, many news outlets were pulling for DiCaprio.

In DiCaprio’s acting career lifetime, he has been nominated for five Academy Awards (Oscars), 10 Golden Globe Awards and eight Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG).

Of those 23 nominations, how many has he won? Any search engine will tell you those results. To make life simpler, the number is two. DiCaprio has won a measly two awards.

The two awards DiCaprio won were both during the Golden Globe Awards.

The first was for his work in “The Aviator,” a film depicting the true story of an aviation pioneer and his struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The second was for his work in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” a dark comedy about a New York stockbroker who uses fraud and corruption to become rich.

Although these are great films, DiCaprio was not recognized for the films that truly deserved recognition.

DiCaprio did not win an Oscar, Golden Globe or SAG for “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “Titanic,” “Gangs of New York,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Blood Diamond,” “The Departed” or “Inception.”

These seven movies alone have amounted to more than 1.5 billion gross income.

For the list of highest-grossing films of all time, the movie “Titanic” comes in second place.

In a list done by Box Office Mojo, affiliated with IMDB, Leonardo DiCaprio ranks No. 35 on the list of actors and actresses that have earned the most income for their performances.

I would agree the amount a movie has earned does not dictate what awards it should win.

However, DiCaprio has been in Hollywood since 1989. That’s 25 years of dedicated acting. He is more than just a pretty face. He will be around for decades.

Each role that DiCaprio plays, he becomes the character.  In “Titanic,” he brought tears to the faces of millions. In “Inception,” he shocked and awed the world. In “Catch Me If You Can,” he stole the hearts of many women. He can make you cry, feel pain and laugh within a span of five minutes.

Along with his capacity for great acting, DiCaprio is humble.

DiCaprio said in an interview, you learn after you’ve been in the business for a while that it’s not getting your face recognized that’s the payoff. It’s having your film remembered.

With all the talent that DiCaprio has shown throughout the years, this leaves fans questioning, “What does Leonardo DiCaprio have to do to get an Oscar?”