It’s easy to forget that when he first became famous, DiCaprio had a knack for playing nice guys. One of his breakout roles was in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), which saw him play a child with learning disabilities, then came his two era-defining heartthrob performances as Romeo in Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997). In the latter film, DiCaprio famously surrendered his side of the wardrobe door so that Rose (Kate Winslet) could survive and subsequently perished in the North Atlantic waters. If that’s not a nice guy move, then I’m not sure what is.

The foundation of his career was built on being a heartthrob – and to be a heartthrob he had to front a few love stories. However, save for The Great Gatsby and Revolutionary Road, DiCaprio did not stay in this territory for long. Whether in fear of being typecast at a pivotal stage of his career or because he was genuinely motivated to take on different characters, DiCaprio made a point of challenging this image.

His face might have adorned the bedroom walls of teenagers around the world during the ‘90s and noughties, but it doesn’t seem like that was ever DiCaprio’s intention. He took a five year break after Titanic and since then has ticked off all the most coveted directors in the industry. In 2002, he starred in Steven Spielberg’s crime drama Catch Me If You Can. He then took on three Martin Scorsese films in Gangs of New York, The Aviator and The Departed. In the years since he has worked with Scorsese several more times, as well as Quentin Tarantino, Ridley Scott and Christoper Nolan.

The characters DiCaprio picks are primed for awards season, rather than to bolster his reputation in the public eye. Case in point: The Revenant. It’s unlikely he signed onto that one to appease any doting fans from his Titanic days. He is nothing if not committed to being unbothered about how he comes across.

In terms of his personal life, DiCaprio leans more into ‘bad boy’ territory than he does ‘nice guy’ anyway. In 2019, ‘The Leonardo DiCaprio Girlfriend Chart’ famously went viral after first being posted on Reddit. It illustrates how from 1999 to 2019 DiCaprio only dated women between the ages of 18 and 25 – and it’s only just been challenged because his current girlfriend, the model Vittoria Ceretti, turned 26 during the course of their relationship. DiCaprio’s own age, currently 50, cruised from 24 to 44 in that same period.

Given the backlash and ridicule said graph caused, it’s understandable why DiCaprio is famed for keeping his private life exactly that. In a rare interview, even then, from 2003 DiCaprio said of fame, ‘It’s out of my control. I’m not going to live my life ducking the paparazzi or getting out of being in the gossip columns – I’m going to do whatever I’m going to do. The only time I comment on myself is when I’m promoting a movie. Other than that, I try to lay low.’

More than 20 years later, this is still the case. The paparazzi might still capture DiCaprio on the odd superyacht around Europe or dining with a blonde model in a restaurant wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, but otherwise he sticks to the junket and chat show circuit at a bare minimum. Search for his last solo, sit-down interview and you will not find many results. In a 2024 interview with The Guardian, which he did alongside his Killers of the Flower Moon co-star Lily Gladstone, DiCaprio said that being an actor means ‘a lot of other stuff comes hand in hand with that’ including ‘the complete loss of your private life’.

This is one of the reasons why his girlfriend Ceretti’s recent Vogue France interview gained so much traction. Unfortunately for Ceretti, a lot of readers were hoping she might reveal something about her relationship with DiCaprio, and she did to an extent. ‘As soon as you’re in a relationship with someone who has a large following than you, you become ‘girlfriend of’ or ‘boyfriend of’ for that matter,’ she bemoaned. ‘And that can be extremely annoying. Suddenly, people are talking about you as so-and-so’s girlfriend who was so-and-so’s ex. So it’s not nice to think that you can’t love whoever you want, because of the labels people need to stick on you.’

She was then asked if jealousy plays a role in their relationship, given the army of female fans DiCaprio has retained over the years. Even if he has a penchant for the youngest amongst them. ‘It’s something you learn,’ she explained. ‘If what you’re experiencing is real, if you know you love each other, then there’s no reason to be alarmed. Because love protects and gives confidence.’

From this we can assume he is in a loving relationship, but that’s as much as we are likely to get. DiCaprio has gone from nice guy to bad boy to simply elusive over the years. What’s keeping the remnants of his nice guy reputation afloat is his philanthropic work. As well as establishing the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation in 1998 to offer grants to more than 35 high-impact projects tackling climate change, DiCaprio is also a designated United Nations Messenger of Peace for climate change. Arguably, the fact he has no detectable desire to be the centre of attention or a ‘celebrity’ in the modern sense of the word makes his philanthropy more meaningful anyway.

Ultimately, we can debate DiCaprio’s image until the cows come home, but he has made it evident, almost from the very beginning, that he doesn’t care. We have to give him that.