Leo: Portrait of the Young Man as an Artist

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By smothering his personality and focusing on cinema greatness, DiCaprio may succeed in transforming the spooky adolescent lust he once inspired into admiration, but he runs the risk that his earnestness and single-mindedness will eventually exhaust audiences. He knows that and says he's quite open to playing "a Cary Grant thing," though he immediately adds, "only if there's a certain amount of reality and authenticity to the characters. I can't get into things where I just don't buy it." (Don't look for him opposite Sandra Bullock anytime soon.)

"I'll probably make s___y choices in the future, I'm sure," he continues. "You need a Heaven's Gate in there once in a while," he says, referring to the legendary film flop. "But what thrills me right now is disappearing into a role that matters, in movies that matter." Of course, DiCaprio is too rich, too pretty and too famous to ever disappear completely, but if he will never quite be a character actor, at least he is on his way to being an actor with character.