THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 19, 1995 TAG: 9505190051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
AT 19, HE EARNED an Oscar nomination.
At 20, he will play the most famous teen-image of modern times - James Dean.
As the young actor who is most taken seriously within the industry, Leonardo DiCaprio, just turned 20, is up for every good movie part within his age range.
``We've moved out of the Brat Pack times,'' he said as he sat in the Regency Hotel in New York City. ``Young actors are getting more serious roles. Young people are being taken more seriously.''
The lanky actor is skin and bones, clad in baggy khaki trousers with a plaid shirt hanging out. He's a far cry from the usual hunk image of teen idols.
Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy and the rest of the Brat Pack - the legendary, and noisily naughty, youth-movie stars of a decade ago - are now mostly unemployed. Hollywood no longer makes movies with Annette and Frankie frolicking on the beach. In fact, after a disastrous series of money-losing ``coming of age'' flicks, Hollywood has largely given up on ``teen'' movies altogether. Instead, studios are focusing on films that will draw a cross-section of age groups.
DiCaprio is in an enviable position. He has a teen following but is also respected by older ticket buyers.
``I don't think in terms of whether the movie makes money,'' he said. ``I don't want to be in the position that I have to be `great' every time out. The stress of doing a role is already enough.''
He first scored as the troubled, downtrodden son of an oppressive Robert De Niro in ``This Boy's Life.''
As a mentally backward lad in ``What's Eating Gilbert Grape,'' opposite Johnny Depp, he received an Academy Award nomination as well as the New Generation Award from Los Angeles critics, Most Promising Actor from Chicago critics and Best Supporting Actor from the National Board of Review.
``Robert De Niro is one of the greatest actors who ever lived,'' DiCaprio said. ``That just suddenly hit me when I realized I had the part in `This Boy's Life.' I learned a lot from his professionalism, from his focus. But I don't work the same way he does. It would take a lot of work for me to get into the role that much. He gets totally, but totally, involved in the character. Me? I come in, do the work and walk away so that I can be myself.''
But he's in favor of extensive research. For ``The Basketball Diaries,'' his latest film, he had a ``drug consultant'' to learn about the addictions and effects of drugs. The film, based on the from-the-gut memoirs of musician-writer Jim Carroll, stars DiCaprio as a rebellious teenager growing up in New York and sinking into the degradation of drug addiction. The film has not done well at the box office but DiCaprio earned critical raves.
``It's certainly not a film that glorifies drugs,'' he said as he lit a cigarette. ``It doesn't preach things like `Just say no' either. What it shows is that the first hit can be the start of real trouble. This movie took me places I'd never been before, acting wise. Withdrawal was the hardest thing to play. It's like being an animal, in a primal state.''
He went to drug clinics and to the streets of New York to learn the atmosphere for the movie.
One of his problems was that he grew up in sunny California - a long way from the grimy street life he was required to play.
``I came to New York and hung out,'' he said. ``It is very different. In California, they'll tell you how great you are. Everyone flatters everyone. In New York, they put you down. They'll tell you the truth. It's good.''
Another problem was that he had to play basketball. ``I've never been much of a team-sport person,'' he said, ``but I learned to play.'' Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark of the underwear commercials) co-starred as his best friend and had an advantage, being versed in New York style.
``Marky was a better basketball player than me,'' DiCaprio said, ``but when we played one-on-one, I beat him anyway.''
DiCaprio's been on the covers of teen magazines, but he dislikes that exposure. He said: ``They want pictures of dates and stuff. I don't have a crush on anyone specific - not anyone I could get obsessed with.''
In the fall, he'll play French poet Arthur Rimbaud in ``Total Eclipse,'' directed by acclaimed European director Agnieszka Holland. The film will deal with the darkly sensual relationship between Rimbaud and poet Paul Verlaine (to be played by award-winning British actor David Thewlis). It's another ultra-serious project.
This will probably be followed by one of the most discussed and most eagerly awaited film projects: a biography of James Dean. Dean, who died in a car crash in 1955, has become the personification of restless American youth in the mid-'50s, a time when teenagers began to show an independence that had previously been unthinkable in America.
For four decades, nearly every young actor has been mentioned for the role of Dean.
``I think it's going to happen,'' DiCaprio said. ``But the script has to be great. It could be a year. It could be never, but it would be really interesting to get inside an actor. I would be an actor playing an actor. It could be a little tricky. You can never really BE him. You're always imitating him.''
DiCaprio gives credit for much of his movie work to his dad, whom he described as ``an underground comic book artist. He knows the whole beat scene.''
He added, ``My dad is a pretty hip dude, when it comes to old men. He reads a lot of scripts for me and eliminates some of them.''
``The best thing about acting,'' DiCaprio said, ``is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get paid for it. It's a great outlet. As for myself, I'm not sure who I am. It seems that I change every day.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
NEW LINE CINEMA
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a teen troubled by drug addiction in his
latest film, ``Basketball Diaries.''
Photo
James Dean bio? DiCaprio is waiting for right script.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY MOVIES by CNB