Whenever the topic of Leonardo DiCaprio’s acting talents comes into conversation, it’s either he’s overrated or underrated, there’s no in-between. I’m sure that debate will continue on here.
There’s no doubt that, given all the acclaimed films he’s starred in, DiCaprio has turned into an iconic American actor, one who never plays it safe, and always goes for auteur-driven projects. I’ll admit that he’s been miscast in some films, but when given the right role, he tends to deliver the goods.
One person who isn’t a fan of DiCaprio’s is Stephen Baldwin. The actor was on Patrick Bet-David’s podcast and slammed DiCaprio as an overrated and privileged actor who didn’t make it on talent. Here’s a transcript:
Leonardo DiCaprio, he’s not a good actor […] I think it takes a certain amount of depth and I think it takes a certain amount of presence and the greatest actors of all time were, when you watched them, they affected you […] The business says DiCaprio is great because he’s given great roles. He’s done some great films, but he’s not a great actor. He’s seen as a great actor not because he’s Gary Oldman. Not because he’s some guy who moved away from the business and did Broadway for 10 years to learn the craft on a deeper level. He didn’t do that.
Baldwin goes on to namecheck Al Pacino as the [Michael] Jordan of “the game”. He also mentions John Lithgow as one of the great and underrated actors, and Tom Cruise as “the greatest movie star of all-time.”
Forget about star power, or good looks, for a second. I disagree with Baldwin. DiCaprio is talented. Just watch his earlier child acting roles in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” and “This Boy’s Life” — the talent is undeniable. However, is he one of the greatest ever? Maybe it’s too soon to ask that question.
Martin Scorsese, who has surely helped DiCaprio cement his A-list status, once flat-out stated that DiCaprio is an all-timer, belonging in the same ranks as Brando, Olivier, De Niro, Pacino, Day-Lewis, Nicholson, Bogart …
His immersion in the process of the person who’s trying to play within the story is full. His fearlessness is something which has given me life when I make a film […] You know, he’s a genius in terms of cinema, he really is, and you could see it in the face. You could see it not only through the eyes, but he has the face of cinema. He doesn’t have to say a word. It’s all there. You could see it in all his films that he’s made going from ‘This Boy Life’ to the ‘Gilbert Grape’ picture, which was wonderful, all the way through the extraordinary ‘The Revenant” […] I really know he’s one of the truly one of the greatest actors in the history of movies. I thank him for everything.
DiCaprio has been Oscar-nominated six times, and he’s won once (“The Revenant”). There was a time when movie fans were shunning DiCaprio due to his handsome good looks and the crazy fandom he acquired because of “Titanic.” And yet, the years have been very kind to DiCaprio, in fact, he may be one of the very last old-school actors left in Hollywood.
I wouldn't call this film great — it stops short of that because of how neatly it resolves itself — but I'll give Rock his due here: this is much better than his previous directorial effort, "Top Five."