London: ‘Titanic’ star Leonardo Di Caprio, who was nominated five times in the past, broke the jinx as he won his first Oscar for ‘The Revenant’. He was sixth time lucky as he was named best actor at the 88th Academy Awards, with Brie Larson named best actress Oscar for ‘Room’.
Leonardo’s victory came as little surprise and was gripped with a sense of déjà vu since it brought back the memories of Bafta award ceremony, where the audience had more or less similar reactions. Leo’s best pal and co-star Kate Winslet had similar expressions on her face as she did when Leonardo walked up the stage to receive Bafta earlier. This time Leonardo got a standing ovation as he walked up to grab an Oscar.
In the last several years, Leonardo was nominated five times for his work, but had always missed the mark. He previously got nominated five time-four times for acting and once as a producer. The movies include ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ in 2014 for Best Actor and Best Picture, ‘Blood Diamond’ in 2007 (Best Actor), ‘The Aviator’ in 2005 (Best Actor) and ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’ in 1994 (Best Supporting Actor).
Despite working in the remarkable movies mentioned above, Leo failed to win an award because:
There were other actors in the fray: Leonardo appeared in several memorable movies, where he was overshadowed by his co-stars. Experts felt that Leo gave ample scope for his co-stars to experiment and push the boundaries. For instance, in Tarantino’s Django Unchained, he mesmerized as slave trader, but the Academy felt that his co-star Christopher Waltz was more suited for an award. Same goes with Cate Blanchett in ‘The Aviator’, Daniel Day Lewis in ‘Gangs of NewYork’, who received an Oscar.
Was his work never noticed?: There are certain kinds of movies which the Academy is appreciative of. Hollywood experts feel that most of his movies including The Departed, Titanic, Catch Me If You Can, and Revolutionary Road were huge hits but did not earn Oscar nominations.
He never worked in movies inviting ‘sympathy’: The biggest perception about Oscars is that it loves movies that celebrate victory of the underdog, underachiever and human spirit. His movies till now never required him to physically exert. He pushed his limits while shooting for The Revenant-suffered extreme cold of filming in minus 40 degrees, suffering frost bites, dealt with the unkind wilderness. The sincere efforts confirmed him prestigious awards at various award ceremonies including the Oscars.
He was too charming for an award: Ever since he appeared in Titanic, Leonardo has emerged as one of the biggest stars in the world, who commanded adulation and massive craze from his fans. Were his charming looks an impediment? Was he too good looking to be taken seriously by the critics or the Academy jury to be taken seriously?
Comments
0 comment