How many of Leonardo DiCaprio's pre-Titanic movies have you seen?

I have been almost a life-long fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and I think a lot of people are. With very good reason too. It is not at all an exaggeration to say that he is a brilliant actor and his work really shows that. Not only has he done brilliant roles, most of his films have been commercial successes as well. But what disappoints me sometimes is the fact that a lot of people only seem to remember him post Titanic, overlooking his stunning filmography before he did the mega blockbuster. Of course I love Titanic and I agree that the film was a huge turning point in his career. But he did some really amazing work before that as well. So, I’ll share some of my favourite pre-Titanic Leo films in this blog.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)- He earned his first Oscar nomination for this movie at age 19! This movie also stars Johnny Depp but Leo clearly steals the show. If you haven’t watched this movie, please do now!
This Boy’s Life (1993)- This is a biopic based on the memoir of Tobias Wolff. Leo stars in the lead alongside Robert De Niro. Watch it!
The Basketball Diaries (1995)- Another biopic and one of my favourite pre-Titanic performances of Leo. It’s about a promising teen basketball player and his subsequent addiction to heroin.
Total Eclipse (1995)- Watched this one recently. Based on the tumultuous romance of celebrated French poets Paul Verlain and Arthur Rimbaud in the 1800s. Leo plays the genius, 16-year-old Rimbaud and you can’t look away.
I’m sure there are more of his films from before he did Titanic that I haven’t watched so I would like to hear about your favourites too. I have also watched Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo+Juliet and that was pretty good too. Let me know what your favourites are.
 
I love The Beach, for different reasons than Leo like commented above.
Watched Gilbert Grape, as a fan of Depp too. Had Basketball Diaries (I was a big basketball person back then, though I know this is not a typical BB movie) on my list for long, doubt I got around to it.

Leonardo DiCaprio leads $43m pledge to restore the Galápagos Islands

Actor partners with conservation groups in aim to rewild archipelago and other Pacific islands in Latin America

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-pledges-43m-to-restore-the-galapagos-islands

The location in Thailand made famous by The Beach was destroyed by tourists who flocked there after watching the movie. It had to be closed for a while. Although during filming the makers already caused damage in order to make everything even more 'picturesque'. Nature is extremely beautiful but we need to preserve it.
Same goes for locations in Iceland following Mr. Bieber's song. He was in fact irresponsible by trampling on the sensitive volcanic moss which can't be restored.
 
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Many of films were produced at a time when environmental and other sensitives were not brought forward, people were not fully aware those times. And big industries bothered less. Things have changed positively a lot these days (and now even some toxic positivity is creeping up). Can't evaluate and scale those films with current day's thought process.
 
I've only seen The Basketball Diaries; good film, great performance.
The rest are post-Titanic, I think. Shutter Island, The Beach, The Man in the Iron Mask, etc.
 
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