Possibly contributing to his title as one of the greatest actors in Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio has given plenty of climactic performances that tend to conclude with his character’s death. Having been in the film business since 1991, Leonardo DiCaprio has made a name for himself while playing tragic characters, with nearly a third of his films ending in his character dying. While it would make more sense for DiCaprio’s roles to end in death during crime or thriller movies, most of the movies he’s died in are more dramatic in nature.
Although launched into fame as an international heartthrob with Titanic in 1997, Leonardo DiCaprio was making emotionally poignant films long before, many of which ended in his character’s demise. Every movie that Leonardo DiCaprio has died in was subject to incredible performances, even when he was in his early acting days. For the most part, the movies where DiCaprio’s character fate is death are major blockbusters, with his performance being highly praised or even Oscar-nominated.
Considering approximately one-third of Leonardi DiCaprio’s movies end with his character’s death, it’s unsurprising that some of the most memorable aspects of such films have been the significance of his character’s inability to make it out alive. Whether he plays a villain, important supporting role, controversial protagonist, or lovable leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio’s new and old movies where he dies typically rely on the importance of his character for their success. As his most recent movie also contributes to the growing list of his characters’ lack of survival, here’s a breakdown of every movie that Leonardo DiCaprio has died in.
The Quick And The Dead
The Quick and the Dead was Leonardo DiCaprio’s sixth-ever movie appearance, where he starred alongside big names Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone for the 1995 revisionist western. DiCaprio portrayed young gunslinger Fee “The Kid” Herod, who believed Hackman’s character John Herod to be his father and decided to win duels to impress him. After The Kid challenges Herod to a duel, the elder Herod fatally shoots DiCaprio’s character. In a tragic moment, The Kid reaches out his dying hand to Herod, which he refuses to take and claims it was never proven that he was The Kid’s father. DiCaprio’s tragic death contributed to the rage against legendary actor Gene Hackman’s character, thus setting up the final act that would lead to his demise.
Total Eclipse
DiCaprio’s demise on Total Eclipse was inevitable, as he was portraying a real-life figure: 19th-century French poet Arthur Rimbaud. The 1995 erotic historic drama followed Rimbaud and poet Paul Verlaine in their psychological and sexual seductions that were illegal at the time. After departing from their violent tryst, DiCaprio’s character travels the world, only to be diagnosed with cancer and pass away at age 37. Total Eclipse was the first example of DiCaprio portraying a romantic lead that meets a fatal end, whereas his significant other in the film survives.
Romeo + Juliet
Considering Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 movie adaption of Romeo + Juliet is based on one of the most notable fictional stories in history, it came as no surprise that the ending would see Leonardo DiCaprio’s Romeo Montague die. Another romantic leading man role for the young actor, DiCaprio’s performance is one of the best-remembered aspects of the modern take on Romeo and Juliet. The 1995 film began his trend of being cast as the tragic romantic lead, with DiCaprio’s final moments in Romeo + Juliet seeing him declare his love for Clare Danes’ Juliet before taking his own life by consuming poison. With such a powerful romantic tragedy performance as one of the most iconic characters in literature, it’s no wonder DiCaprio was featured in a similarly fatal role the next year.
Titanic
One of Leonardo DiCaprio’s most memorable film performances is Jack Dawson in James Cameron’s 1997 movie Titanic, which notably launched the actor into vast fame. DiCaprio’s character is the leading man, a poor American who finds his way onto the RMS Titanic and falls in love with the wealthy Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) before the ship hits an iceberg and sinks in the ocean. The latter part of Titanic follows Jack and Rose desperately trying to survive the sinking, with the final dramatic scene showing Rose laying on a board in the ocean while Jack hangs on to her from the side in the water. After hours of treading freezing cold water, Rose wakes up to see that Titanic‘s Jack has frozen to death while hanging onto the board, so she removes his hand and watches her true love sink below the surface.
The Departed
The third film in a partnership that would extend throughout the next two decades, Leonardo DiCaprio starred in Martin Scorsese’s movie The Departed in 2006. The film would go on to win Best Picture at the Oscars, partially due to the compelling performances of the lead actors including DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Matt Damon. DiCaprio portrayed undercover cop Trooper William “Billy” Costigan Jr, who is assigned to investigate Frank Costello’s crime ring. By the end of the film, Costigan has successfully infiltrated the gang by gaining Costello’s trust, and discovers that police officer Colin Sullivan has been part of the Irish mob all along. While trying to arrest Sullivan, Costigan is sent down an elevator by another trooper, though at the bottom of the building, another trooper proceeds to fatally shoot DiCaprio’s character before revealing himself to be a mole for the mob. The Departed’s ending is one of the most climactic sequences in film history, especially since it seemed like DiCaprio’s character would miraculously make it out alive. Instead, Martin Scorsese’s f-bomb dropping movie was another example of DiCaprio’s good-guy character tragically dying in a surprise twist.
Blood Diamond
Although one of Blood Diamond’s best-remembered aspects is Leonardo DiCaprio’s divisive South African accent, the 2006 political action thriller was an early example of a movie where the heartthrob was a criminal anti-hero. In Blood Diamond, DiCaprio portrayed Rhodesian smuggler and mercenary Danny Archer, who devises to steal a pink diamond from a RUF encampment while also battling South African Colonel Coetzee, who also wants the stone. After retrieving the diamond, DiCaprio’s character kills the colonel while trying to free his partner, Vandy, and his son, only to reveal he has been mortally wounded in the fight. Allowing Vandy and his son to escape, Archer stays behind and soaks in the beauty of Africa’s landscape before dying. Although his character was a criminal, DiCaprio’s controversially-accented Blood Diamond role was another example of his star power making audiences root for him, where he dies in the tragic finale while trying to altruistically help others.
J. Edgar
Similar to Total Eclipse, it was no surprise that DiCaprio died in the movie J. Edgar considering it was a biopic of the deceased man’s life. After portraying FBI director J. Edgar Hoover’s historic career and life, DiCaprio’s titular role ends with a scene depicting the controversial figure’s later years, concluding with Hoover being found dead of a heart attack at home. J. Edgar is one of the only instances in which Leonardo DiCaprio dies in a movie of a natural cause in old age instead of tragic circumstances at a younger age.
Django Unchained
In DiCaprio’s first collaboration with the gory director Quentin Tarantino, the actor portrayed the menacing, wealthy slave-owner Calvin J. Candie (which inspired a Leonardo DiCaprio drinking meme), who proved to be one of his vilest yet outstanding roles to date. A cruel plantation owner is a truly despicable role that audiences expected of DiCaprio, which is part of why his expectation-breaking performance was so highly praised. Although his villainous Django Unchained character broke his typecasting, it didn’t break DiCaprio’s movie trend of his characters dying – though this is unsurprising for a Tarantino movie. In a climactic scene with the protagonists Django and Dr. Shultz, a shootout occurs after a tense dinner in which Shultz fatally shoots DiCaprio’s character point-blank when he threatens to kill Django’s wife. Considering DiCaprio was playing the film’s biggest villain, it seems apt that Candie was killed off in a non-tragic manner, as the reason was due to his overly-despicable nature. Interestingly, Django Unchained‘s high kill-count movie is one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s only deaths in which his demise isn’t tragic nor garners sympathy.
The Great Gatsby
Tackling another literary legend, Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed the titular Jay Gatsby in 2013’s The Great Gatsby as his second collaboration with director Baz Luhrmann. Similar to Romeo + Juliet, it was no surprise that his iconic character would die at the end. Keeping up with his tragic romantic-lead deaths, DiCaprio’s Gatsby was murdered at his home by an angered husband after he mistakenly believed the wealthy man to have killed his wife. In one of the best-remembered fictional character deaths in history, Gatsby is shot while in his pool, symbolizing the death of the American dream. At the same time, Tobey Maguire’s Great Gatsby character explains that Gatsby was subject to immorality in pursuit of his wealth and attempt to win back his true love. Considering Gatsby is a tragic character whose death still needs to be sympathized with by audiences, the casting of the revered DiCaprio worked to achieve sadness in the face of the complex character’s demise.
Don’t Look Up
Although Leonardo DiCaprio experienced a lengthy gap in having his movie characters die, Adam McKay’s divisively-reviewed 2021 movie Don’t Look Up revives this pattern. DiCaprio’s character Dr. Randall Mindy is another complex figure, as he begins as a low-level, anxious astronomer who is launched into the international spotlight once he and his student discover a planet-destroying comet is headed toward Earth. Amidst his unprecedented fame, Mindy betrays his morals by cheating on his wife, leaving his family, politicizing a deadly threat, and capitalizing on his “sexy scientist” persona. By the end of Don’t Look Up, Mindy’s failure to neutralize the threat by pleading its dangers to the media and government have contributed to the planet’s failure to destroy the incoming comet. Don’t Look Up ends with Mindy reconnecting with his family as the comet nears Earth, sharing a meal as the Earth shakes and the comet makes contact, thus obliterating Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in addition to (almost) everyone on the planet.
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