Because Leonardo DiCaprio is the last real star

delirium for Leonardo Dicaprio, Once again. And we all expected it. At the Cannes Film Festival 2023 it’s her day and it’s full everywhere, amidst waves of onlookers and fans. After all, this has been the case for more than twenty years: Leonardo DiCaprio is the star of stars. In the rain, an army of fans have lined up since dawn, hoping for a selfie or at least a photo from afar. And when DiCaprio hit the red carpet, audiences started pulling signs, hearts, posters, holy cards, anything with his face on it. At 48, the former enfant prodige, the former blond of Titanic, maintains the same charm as always. Leo never goes out of fashion, does not even become boomers. All the others yes, he doesn’t even think about it. And if every year there is talk of him being his heir or of the “new DiCaprio” (see titled colleagues such as Timothée Chalamet or Austin Butler), then it is enough to see him again in public to have no more doubts: DiCaprio is still here, just the original.

Why do we like it (still) so much? The reasons are many, and difficult to list. In no particular order we can say that being unreachable and unwilling to tell helps. Few interviews (often only in tandem with the director), very few public appearances, even fewer spontaneous statements. He has always been an actor who gives himself little, and only for what he believes in. Talk about his work, not him. When he’s not working, in fact, he does everything to disappear from the radar. You can meet him in New York while he uses the bike sharing service, or in a dark corner of a truly exclusive party, with the ever-present hat covering his eyes. he dressed “as none of us would dress knowing that the world is watching him”. Then, there is bachelor’s reputation. At his side there have always been more and more beautiful women and you never know how long they will stay. Needless to list them, it wouldn’t make sense. DiCaprio wouldn’t do that. In fact, he never opened his mouth about any of them. The latest sentimental theory concerning him is «the 25-year rule». When the last official girlfriend Camila Morrone disappeared from her radar, the internet coined this theory, that is when you make them Leonardo DiCaprio leaves you. A meme, of course, but one that helps fuel the “myth”.

And then there is charity and environmental commitment, the true one. His foundation, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, created in 1998, has done more than many governments over the years. After all, the actor has become a convinced environmentalist long before the issue became mass. his Instagram profile, on which he describes himself as an “actor and ecologist”, is followed by 58 million followers and is entirely dedicated to environmental and ecological issues. And then there is the cinema. Because, let’s face it, DiCaprio continues to make beautiful films, getting better and better. Those who are lucky enough to know him at least a little say that he has always rejected roles as a respectable American in favor of difficult characters. After Titanic he could aim for blockbusters, but he wanted the best directors in Hollywood. The result? His films always have two characteristics: quality and success. And he can do what he wants and he does what he wants.

The last one is the one that brings him here to Cannes, The killers of the flower moon, which touches on one of the most controversial pages in American history, directed by his friend Martin Scorsese, who wanted him in many of his other films (seven, to be exact). The actor plays a man who marries Mollie (Native actress Lily Gladstone) and finds himself involved in the extermination of the Osage Indian people. He hadn’t been seen on the Croisette since 2019, when he arrived paired with Brad Pittprotagonists together of Once upon a time in… Hollywood. Same generation, completely different characters. But we are not here to compare. It’s Leonardo DiCaprio day and he deserves it all.