Leonardo DiCaprio Quotations

I'm not the kind of person who tries to be cool or trendy, I'm definitely an individual.

I couldn't deal with playing a character who rides motorcycles and has a leather jacket and is a tough kid, y'know?

I want to be a jerk like the rest of my friends, and have fun, and not care about the consequences, but I just can't now.

I get a friend to travel with me... I need somebody to bring me back to who I am. It's hard to be alone.

I really don't know what I'm doing... I don't. It's terrible. I go in there and I learn how to be like the character and do the best I can, and that's all I really do.

I'm just starting to scratch the surface of what really makes me happy and it's taken me a while to admit that acting like a little child and being a jerk and a punk is fun.

My dad's probably one of the kindest people in the world. When I was younger that's not how I was- I was a little spoiled brat.

Everywhere I go, somebody is staring at me, I don't know if people are staring because they recognize me or because they think I'm a weirdo.

The best thing about acting is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get paid for it... It's a great outlet. I'm not really sure who I am - it seems I change every day.

If you can do what you do best and be happy, you're further along in life than most people.

The first kiss I had was the most disgusting thing in my life. The girl injected about a pound of saliva into my mouth, and when I walked away I had to spit it all out.

The role of Rimbaud is one of the most important roles to play for a young actor.

I prefer ordinary girls - you know, college students, waitresses, that sort of thing. Most of the girls I go out with are just good friends. Just because I go out to the cinema with a girl, it doesn't mean we are dating.

I don't see why I can't have friends of both sexes without wild rumors being circulated. It's crazy.

I've never been Romeo who meets a girl and falls for her immediately. It's been a much slower process for me each time I've gone into a relationship.

I got attention by being funny at school, pretending to be retarded, and jumping around with a deformed hand.

The good thing about acting is that it always keeps you on your toes... It's not like any other job where you can go in and do the same thing as yesterday.

To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the ultimate tragedy.

I've always been spontaneous and outgoing... I've tried lots of things so I've got some good life experiences, which is great 'cause it means I've got lots of material to work with as an actor.

With Romeo and Juliet, you're talking about two people who meet one night, and get married the same night. I believe in love at first sight-but it hasn't happened to me yet.

It's easy to fall into the trap of believing all the hype that's written about you... Who knows? In a couple of years, you might find me in the loony bin!

I've managed to keep a clear head and remain sane in this business because I remain a kid off-camera.

I'm probably not going to get married unless I live with somebody for 10 or 20 years. But these people (Romeo and Juliet) took a chance and they did it. We don't have the balls that Romeo did.

My career should adapt to me. Fame is like a VIP pass wherever you want to go.

School, I never truly got the knack of. I could never focus on things I didn't want to learn.

I've been planted here to be a vessel for acting... That's why I'm really taking any part, regardless of how complicated it's going to be.

When a role for a young guy is being offered to me, I think of River Phoenix. It feels like a loss.

I didn't know what types of movies I wanted to do. I want to do things that are different. I want to take my time with each role.

Portraying emotionally ill characters gives me the chance to really act.

Brothers don't necessarily have to say anything to each other - they can sit in a room and be together and just be completely comfortable with each other.

Don't think for a moment that I'm really like any of the characters I've played. I'm not. That's why it's called 'acting'.

I was always the kid in school who tried to get attention, not necessarily the class clown, but I'd do little unexpected performances.

I like to be able to play a character and act out a lot of things which I can't or don't do in my normal everyday life.

Being dubbed as a hunk sort of annoys me. It gives me a yucky feeling.

Meryl Streep does things I would never have thought possible... Her presence on screen is outstanding.

I just want to keep doing what I'm doing and hopefully people will watch my movies.

I am friends with Demi. Don't believe anything you read.

My love of performing goes way back. My Mom got me on Romper Room when I was five--It was my favorite show. But they couldn't control me. I would run up and smack the camera, and I'd jump around and do my little flips and routines.

My God, no! I hate this whole hunk thing! I feel when I see myself in that, and these other cute faces, that I'm just part of this meat factory, like, Wow! Here's the hunk of the month! This month we're shoving Leonardo DiCaprio down your throat! Isn

I'd definitely say that when I'm alone with a girl, I'm doing the baby voices, all that stuff, rubbing noses, the whole thing.

I hate it... I feel that when I see myself and these other cute faces, I'm just part of this meat factory.

Growing up in this business and truly wanting to be a part of the world of film, I'm a truly privileged person standing here today. But I must say, the pinnacle, the pinnacle of all that has been to work alongside one of the greatest contributors to the world of cinema of our time, and that is the great Martin Scorsese.

Global warming is not only the No. 1 environmental challenge we face today, but one of the most important issues facing all of humanity. We all have to do our part to raise awareness about global warming and the problems we as a people face in promoting a sustainable environmental future for our planet.

Whatever I did would be something they'd already done. I mean, my Dad would welcome it if I got a nose ring.

I always feel like I'm on a roller-coaster, but I never want to get off! There's a certain high you're always on.

I was dreading winning. I didn't even plan a speech-I was worried that I would slip up or do something horrible. I was shaking in my seat, putting on a posed smile. Inside I was petrified.

I went out last night and all the girls ignored me.

I was expecting a little more from ol' Sharon y'know? I wasn't about to get down and dirty with her, so it was a bit of a let down. Actually, she hurt my lip.

I wasn't sure at first-I didn't want to run around in tights, swinging a sword.

The pain is temporary, the film is forever

When I was young, I used to have this thing where I wanted to see everything. I used to think, 'How can I die without seeing every inch of this world?'

Brothers don't necessarily have to say anything to each other-they can sit in a room and be together and just be completely comfortable with each other.

Enough is enough. The truth is our planet's alarm is now going off and it's time to wake up and take action.

It was the simple fact that there was probably not a cooler character on earth that I could play...

I've never been Romeo who meets a girl and falls for her immediately... It's been a much slower process for me each time I've gone into a relationship.

Dad, I really want to become an actor, but if this is what it's all about, I don't want to do it.

That's the cool part of the business, going to different countries with your friends and having everything paid for by the studios.

Anyone I'm with has to give me freedom. I like to be with someone who has character and style and someone who is very understanding.

I rejected it many times because I thought it was just another commercial film. Sharon Stone and everything. But then, with one day to decide, I said, 'OK'. I like Sam Raimi and this character's really funny and cool.

I really like to have sweet people around me. I can't stand bad asses. There's too many of them, especially my age in LA. I like to get to know people, and you have to peel away so many layers of those people. Just give me someone who's relaxed and c

It's interesting in this day and age to do a film about political espionage and wiretapping. I don't think that those types of secrets that J. Edgar Hoover was able to obtain and keep for such a long period of time would be possible in today's world, with the Internet and WikiLeaks.

The truth is that I've always been fascinated with wealth in America. To me, it's been about the American dream and the corruption of that dream.

I know a lot of the intense moments in 'Titanic' were made that much easier and were pushed to even further limits because of that relationship.

I have never been a fashionista or someone who puts a lot of thought into what I wear, and I dress to be as comfortable as I possibly can.

I sometimes have to look back and say, "Wow, this is amazing what has happened to me. I have been able to fulfill a lot of these dreams that I had when I was very young." It's a pretty amazing feeling. But at the same time it becomes addictive!

If you're gonna let the character be the story, you better set a tone that allows the actors to do the best work they can do.

To play a repressed gay man, I had to explore what life was like in an era of sexual repression.

I suppose playing an older man is a way of preparing myself for getting older.

We [ with Russel Crowe] had an Arabic coach there [ in the Body of Lies] that was really helpful, because it was more so than any accent. You have to be so exact, and there's different dialects of Arabic from country to country so it was really, really difficult to tell you the truth. And one of the hardest things I've ever had to do language-wise, because it comes from the throat. It's different. And also learning about the customs and the culture and all that, so we had advisors for that sort of thing.

At first glance, you read something on the page and it can seem one way, and you can have your decisions before you wind up on set about what that set is supposed to mean, but until you're actually there doing them, there's really no way to understand it.

People always ask, 'Was it fun? Was it fun working on a movie?' I don't know if that's the operative word. It is challenging and interesting and all those other things, but fun isn't always.

[Success] always starts with the material; it always starts with the truth and honesty of the characters that you read in the screenplay and that's rarely something that can be remedied if it's simply not there by the time you shoot the film. Thank God we had that.

We were both [ with Russel Crowe] hand-plucked to do [The Quick and the Death]. He had done Romper Stomper and I had done Gilbert Grape and so we were hand- plucked to do this big budget film. So we were both very bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Marty [Scorsese] knows that when an improvised moment comes out of a real situation, it's gonna have more life and more going on than anything you can imagine and that's how the character can become the story

I want to be the perfect child. I owe so much to my parents and the way I was brought up.

I have to say as an actor I have been inspired by so many British actors throughout the years.

These types of films that are psychologically sort of dark at times, I find extremely exciting to do because there's always something to think about. There's nothing more boring than to show up on set and say a line and know that your character means exactly what they say. It's interesting to have an unreliable narrator in a film and that's what both of those films have been.

I grew up in Hollywood but not in any rich neighborhood.

I think sexiness in most people - and this is going to sound superficial - is definitely something you don't plan.

I never thought I could travel unless I had a wife or someone to share it with. You don't necessarily need that, but I am the type of person that wants to share a lot.

Kate Winslet also happens to be one of my close friends who I goof off with like crazy. It was a reunion of two people who, I guess, are a little bit older, a tiny bit wiser but ultimately were the same as they were when they were 21.

I like to prepare as much as possible beforehand, but there's definitely that element of fear when you're on set, and you have to be conscious of it and use that fear to drive you to work harder.

To put a lot of hard work and effort into a project or character and for it to be recognised, how can it not be nice?

I'll just be the first to say that Ken [Watanabe] should be a national treasure in Japan, because he is an unbelievably talented actor. You couldn't find more of a gentleman. He's sweet, he's kind and he's extremely thoughtful in the work that he does.

I don't think there's a specific science you can put on dream psychology. I think that it's up to the, obviously, the individual.

I like movies! No, I like theater too. And paintings are great, and all of that! But to me, the great sort of artistic medium I think, of our time, is film. I really feel that. I mean to me, there's nothing else out there, where I can sort of suspend disbelief for two hours.

Obviously people don't want other people to tell them how to think or what to believe, or to tell them what's right politically and what's wrong.

That's the magic of moviemaking. You clearly identify one scenario with the other, and it's a completely different experience.

If a film is good, and I'm sort of able to sit there and absorb myself within that world. And get lost. That is a pretty powerful tool. And there's not many paintings out there, that make me want to stare at it for hours at a time, and wonder where I am!

Since I was very young I've been fascinated with nature and I actually wanted to be a marine biologist when I was very young. That was a great passion of mine. So I suppose in the off season when I'm not making movies, I became more and more active as an environmentalist trying to be more vocal about issues that I felt were important.

I created my foundation as a result of that and my website, and I try to shed some light on some very topical issues right now. The idea is to try to get people to become obviously more knowledgeable about the issue and try to get corporations and individuals to contribute to these nonprofit organizations.

We're at risk of losing this iconic species for all time. Once it's stripped of its natural instincts, it's no longer a tiger. But there's a lot of species like that. The more intriguing thing, throughout Asia, a lot of these countries are selling off their jungle-and-forest rights for oil and for paper-and-pulp companies.

The more I've acted, I've realised that I have a) no control of and b) no way of really quite understanding how people react to anything I do, or any movie I do.

I've never known a situation in my career where a terrible script turned into a movie that was out of this world or was a success.

The challenge for me was not just the prosthetic work and how to move like an older man would move, but more so how to have 50 years of experience in the workplace and talk to a young Robert F. Kennedy as if he was some political upstart that didn't know what the hell he was talking about. That was the big challenge [in the J. Edgar Hoover mоvie].

What I do is whatever it takes, it takes. Sometimes you see a scene right away and a take looks great so you might print that and you might print a couple more and take elements of all three. It just depends. You're looking for the highlights. You're looking for the best elements of the scene, but preferably you'd like to have one good take that would go all the way through.

I think everyone has some sort of connection to Gatsby as a character... he's created himself according to his own emotions and dreams and lifted himself by his bootstraps from a poor kid in the Midwest and created this image that is The Great Gatsby and it's a truly American story in that regard.

We actually did a lot of takes on this movie [J. Edgar Hoover ]. I never left the set wanting more. That's for sure. I don't know. This was a very difficult character for me and a lot of the other actors here, and at times we went and did 8 or 9 or 10 takes on a single day.

There's a difference in our ages [with Leonardo DiCaprio], but we were both in the same sort of position [on The Quick and the Death movie].Everyone below us in a casting position were all these really famous character actors like Keith David. And they were looking at the two of us going, 'Who are these guys?' So that naturally kind of put us together in a way where we'd just hang out together because we didn't care about status. We just wanted to enjoy the experience. The two things that have changed about Leo [ DiCaprio] since that time: he can drink legally and he's no longer a virgin.

I've gotten to play some pretty intense characters and I tend to think it's therapeutic for me.