Could Leonardo DiCaprio Finally Win An Oscar? — A Look Back At His Previous Nominations

Leonardo DiCaprio has been nominated five times for the Oscar but has never won. But neither have actors such as Cary Grant (not including his honorary Oscar), Johnny Depp, and Glenn Close, who has been nominated six times. Actress Julianne Moore was zero for four until she finally won Best Actress in 2014 for her role in Still Alice.

Though DiCaprio scored a sixth nomination for his role as frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass, who survived a nasty bear attack and went after the men who left him for dead in The Revenant. A role that has netted DiCaprio a Golden Globe, a SAG (another award he’s been nominated six times for, but never won), and a BAFTA. But when it comes to the Oscar, DiCaprio has always been a fan favorite to win the big one, but always comes up short in the end.

Business Insider weighed in on DiCaprio’s unfortunate luck at the Oscars.

DiCaprio is one of the most recognized actors of his generation — if not the most — though he’s never won an Oscar… The actor landed his first Oscar nomination when he was 19 and shot to superstardom… Since then, DiCaprio has earned a total of six nominations, but has still come up short. His snubs have become a running joke among fans. Some have created “Sad Leo” memes, and one fan even created a computer game devoted to the subject.

DiCaprio’s first nomination for Best Supporting Actor came in 1993 for his portrayal as a developmentally disabled teenager in the drama What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, opposite Johnny Depp. DiCaprio was only 19 at the time he was nominated. Though DiCaprio was praised by critics for his role, he would end up losing the Oscar to actor Tommy Lee Jones for his legendary role as deputy U.S. marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive. Jones also won a Golden Globe for this role.

DiCaprio would later go on to star in the blockbuster film Titanic in 1997… but was snubbed by the Academy for his role as Jack Dawson… though the actor was nominated for a Golden Globe, which he also lost. Titanic itself would go on to win 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director.

DiCaprio’s next nomination wouldn’t happen until 2004, eleven years after his Best Supporting Actor nomination. This time it was for Best Actor, and for his portrayal of reclusive aviation pioneer and film director Howard Hughes in The Aviator. The film marked the second time DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese teamed up together. However DiCaprio would once again lose the Oscar to Jamie Foxx for his role in the Ray Charles biopic Ray.

Two years later, DiCaprio would net his third nomination, and his second Best Actor nod for his role as Danny Archer in the critically acclaimed political war thriller Blood Diamond. DiCaprio would once again be on the losing end, this time to Forrest Whitaker for his role in The Last King of Scotland. DiCaprio would later go on to star in many critically acclaimed films such as The Departed, Revolutionary Road, Inception, and Django Unchained. Even though DiCaprio was critically praised for his roles in each of these films, the Academy failed to nominate him.

DiCaprio’s last two nominations came from the Martin Scorsese directed The Wolf of Wall Street. The actor would not only be nominated for Best Actor, making it his third nomination in that category, but he was also nominated as a producer. Though DiCaprio was successful in winning a Golden Globe, he would lose the Oscar to Matthew McConaughey for his role in Dallas Buyers Club.

Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin weighed in on DiCaprio’s Oscar woes.

DiCaprio’s continuing inability to land an Oscar, despite being one of the most feted and bankable actors in the business, is one of the inexplicable quirks of the awards-season ecosystem, a kind of strange and mystical natural phenomenon, like bioluminescent plankton, or the moving rocks of Death Valley.

Will DiCaprio finally win the big one this year for The Revenant? With the fact that the actor has won most of the major film awards this year for the film, the odds are highly in his favor… However, when it comes to the Oscars, anything can happen.

[Header photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images]