Leonardo DiCaprio To Portray Billy Milligan, Man With 24 Personalities, Could An Oscar Be In His Future?

Leonardo DiCaprio has played many roles during his career, demonstrating his ability to portray multiple personalities with ease. However, his newest role may require a bit more flexibility in his approach.

In the role, Leonardo will be challenged to portray a character with multiple personalities, as many as 24 in the same movie. The Crowded Room will pit DiCaprio against the mind of Billy Milligan, a man that was on trial for rape but used his multiple personality disorder as his defense. The movie will be based on Milligan’s real life struggle and how he was able to separate each personality in an attempt to prove his innocence.

The Crowded Room is based on The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes, the Huffington Post reports. Leonardo DiCaprio will portray Billy Milligan and all 24 of his personalities in the upcoming film. DiCaprio’s production company, Appian Way, is joining forces with New Regency to produce the film that could finally place an Oscar upon DiCaprio’s shelf.

Billy Milligan was put on trial in the 1970s after he was accused of raping at least three women. During the course of the trial, Milligan attempted to prove his innocence, claiming it wasn’t him that raped the women, instead that it was two of his multiple personalities that enacted the horrific crime. During the course of the trial, Milligan stuck by his multiple personality defense, eventually winning the case and proving his innocence.

Metro shared that Milligan was the first person to successfully win a case of this kind, forcing jurors and judges to take a serious look at mental disabilities and their role in crimes.

Leonardo DiCaprio has teamed up with New Agency in the past on the film The Revenant, scheduled to release around Christmas time, and has received praise thus far.

DiCaprio has been the subject of multiple memes and internet jokes in regards to his inability to obtain an Oscar, despite portraying roles in iconic films such as Titanic. The role of Billy Milligan will prove to be a challenge for the veteran actor, but may allow him to read an acceptance speech in front of his many peers within the industry. At this time, the movie is still in the development stages, so there is little to share in regards to how DiCaprio will portray Milligan. Yet, with his past portrayals, there is little doubt DiCaprio can pull it off.

Do you think this could be Leo’s film that wins the Oscar?

[Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images]