Trivia: Lesser known facts about Leonardo Dicaprio

Leonardo Dicaprio is among Hollywood's most influential celebrities of all time. The Shutter Island star recently appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s love letter to Hollywood, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. The movie was also nominated at the 92nd Academy Awards.

Also read: Times When Leonardo DiCaprio's 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' Was Caught In Controversies

Leo’s transformation in the film industry has been remarkable and the actor has been melting hearts with his charm since the 90s. The actor has worked with phenomenal directors like Baz Luhrmann, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. Did you know how Leo got his name? Check out some facts that you probably didn’t know about the actor’s life and career. 

• Dicaprio is an environmentalist. 
• Robert De Niro reportedly chose Leonardo DiCaprio himself from hundreds of young boys who auditioned for the role in This Boy’s Life.
• The actor wore contact lenses for his role in the film Body Of Lies (2008). 
• Leo’s mother’s name is Irmelin Indenbirken, and she was born in Germany.
• His mother named him Leonardo because she was pregnant with him and was gazing at a Da Vinci painting in a museum when he first kicked.
• As a child, Leo briefly attended experimental and progressive school at the University Elementary School (which is now known as UCLA Lab School).

Also read: Leonardo DiCaprio Lived In LA's Multiple Neighbourhoods; Read Lesser-known Facts About Him

• His father’s name is George DiCaprio and he is half-Bavarian and half-Italian.
• DiCaprio first received an Academy Award nomination in 1993 for his role as Arnie Grape in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
• DiCaprio actually met the real Frank Abagnale, Jr – the con-man character he played in 2002’s Catch Me If You Can. He met him while working on the film.
• Author Grace Catalano published around two books about DiCaprio before he turned 25.
• He was originally cast as the genius codebreaker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, but the role passed over to Benedict Cumberbatch.
• Leonardo DiCaprio’s first film role was in the movie Critters 3 and not as Toby Wolf in This Boy’s Life.
• Apparently, Dicaprio is the highest-grossing actor to have never acted in a sequel.