When I was younger, I recognized actors by their faces, not their names. Why would I really need to know that Harry Potter was actually called Daniel Radcliffe? Or that Spiderman was really called Peter Parker — I mean, Tobey Maguire? I was too young to care.
But as we get older, we appreciate these things more, and in doing so, our connections become more real. My connection, for example, to Peter Parker, had me conceding that I might ask him for help on this article, considering his renowned workplace.
That being said, growing up, when I heard the name Leonardo DiCaprio I always thought “Yes I know him. He’s Captain Jack Sparrow!” Only later on, I had an epiphany about the ‘Depp’ of my stupidity. Stupidity is a strong word, but it is definitely apt for describing confusing two great actors who have no resemblance to each other whatsoever — an obvious reason why one should be able to tell them apart. Could Leo have played Jack Sparrow though? Perhaps — as far as birds go, he certainly brings out his inner songbird with his melodic humming in 2013 movie, The Sparrow of Wall Street — I mean, wolf.
If Leonardo DiCaprio were in the Caribbean, it’d probably be on holiday. I can’t see him taking many of those, though, considering the large roles that he plays every year.
Consistency. Leo is the epitome of it. His longevity makes him special. At 41, DiCaprio has played key roles in several noteworthy films. Inception. The Wolf of Wall Street. Django Unchained. Blood Diamond. Those are my personal favorites! Leo has stayed true to his art and kept on acting, despite the Oscar evading him a previous six times he was nominated, before he actually “unchained” it this year. Allow me to unchain the question that serves as the backbone to this whole article.
Did Leo deserve his Oscar? Well, does February 14 deserve to be called Valentine’s Day? In both cases the answer is YES. However, more hearts were probably fulfilled on February 28 when Leo got his Oscar than on Valentine’s Day this year. I was on the train to Chinatown for a comedy show when I first found out. My brother texted me saying “Homeboy Leo got the Oscar!!!!” and my reply was “YESSSSSS! I thought I was your homeboy though?” He still hasn’t replied. . .
I believe Leo won his rightful Oscar. The others were not meant for him. But why this year?
Destiny? The universe? Stars aligning? Or was The Revenant THAT phenomenal? I don’t think we can credit the universe or stars for this one because they would have favoured Matt Damon, on account of how much time he spent up there in The Martian. So no, it wasn’t the globetrotter, Damon, who won the Oscar. It was instead the man who sees the globe as our treasure, as emphasized in his winning speech for “best actor.”
On a night where the media retina was focused and framed around the #OscarsSoWhite controversy born out of a lack of diversity in this year’s nominations, Leo had other ideas for the theme of his speech: #OscarsSoGreen. DiCaprio lamented the mistreatment of the Earth today and bashed the posers and corporations who seek personal benefit at the expense of our planet’s well-being.
What can we learn from that speech? We can play a part in something way bigger than ourselves and bigger than a Hollywood production, or whatever it is we directly manifest our energy into on a daily basis.
Keep fighting for your own Oscar moment.
Most deserving winner