There’s a reason Leonardo DiCaprio is one of Hollywood’s most successful actors.

Swipe ahead for more about Leo’s most powerful film performances.

The Departed (2006)

HBO Max

Leo shines in this star-studded film that helped Martin Scorsese win his only Academy Award for Best Director. DiCaprio’s doomed position as an undercover cop infiltrating organized crime still feels real even though audiences are watching him act as a character who’s acting like someone else.

Photography: Warner Bros. Pictures

Inception (2010)

Prime Video

Inception oftentimes feels more like a dream than a movie, but that’s kind of the whole point. This dizzying masterpiece from director Christopher Nolan is carried by a hevy performance from DiCaprio that lingers long after the credits roll.

Photography: Warner Bros. Pictures

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

HBO Max

Leo’s breakout performance as a child actor was so believable that he actually lost votes during awards season because members of The Academy thought he was really a special needs kid who was cast in the movie, not a professional actor. They quickly realized their mistake as soon as they saw him in Basketball Diaries.

Photography: Paramount Pictures

The Revenant (2015)

Prime Video

After years of hit movies, Leo finally took home a much-deserved Academy Award win for Best Actor for his role in The Revenant. If you’ve ever thought that camping in the wilderness might be fun, watch this movie and you might reconsider.

Photography: 20th Century Fox

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Prime Video

If you watch The Wolf of Wall Street and think DiCaprio’s character is someone to idolize, you might be missing the point of the movie. Leo makes real-life con man Jordan Belfort so likable that it’s hard not to root for him, even as he’s stealing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Photography: Paramount Pictures

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

HBO Max

DiCaprio brought Shakespeare into the 20th century with the help of visionary director Baz Luhrmann. This is one love story that doesn’t have a happy ending – a common theme in some of Leo’s most memorable films.

Photography: 20th Century Fox

Titanic (1997)

Paramount+

Titanic is the movie that launched DiCaprio into his role as king of Hollywood. The 1997 drama film became the highest-grossing movie of its time because audiences kept returning to theaters to fall in love with Leo all over again.

Photography: Paramount Pictures

The Aviator (2004)

Netflix

Hollywood might be wild now, but that’s nothing compared to what it was like during the 1940s when Howard Hughes was forging a path that just so happened to change aviation forever. Leo brings Hughes’ chaotic and crazy true story to life, jars of urine and all.

Photography: Miramax Films

Gangs of New York (2002)

Paramount+

DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis in a Martin Scorsese film is one of the most potent combinations of cinematic talent that’s ever been assembled. Leo’s gruesome performance immediately takes viewers back to a time when New York was still being built one blade at a time.

Photography: Miramax Films

Django Unchained (2012)

Paramount+

Django Unchained is a reminder that Leo doesn’t have to be the star of the movie to make his presence felt. DiCaprio’s part as the insidious Calvin J. Candie in Tarantino’s Django Unchained is brief but visceral enough to make you question if you ever liked him in the first place.

Photography: The Weinstein Company

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

HBO Max

DiCaprio and Spielberg, with the help of Tom Hanks, tell an unbelievably true story filled with Christmas magic. This coming-of-age story shows Leo growing up in front of the camera as he solidifies his transition in 2002 from a teen heartthrob to a confident leading man.

Photography: DreamWorks Pictures