  Leonardo DiCaprio. |
HOLLYWOOD -- At 32, Leonardo DiCaprio has finally departed boyhood.
Gone is the rail-thin hero of Titanic and Catch Me If You Can. His frame these days is thicker, his face surrendering the odd line. The prettiness embedded in his DNA has begun to reveal hints of handsomeness. DiCaprio's features still defy his age, granted, but he'll never be able to convincingly pass for a teenager again.
The heft -- not so much of physique as spirit -- that he has dauntlessly pursued since sinking to the bottom of the ocean as a dreamy, doomed heartthrob in James Cameron's disaster blockbuster now seems well within his grasp.
Not that this marquee maturation was intentional, DiCaprio insists.
In fact, when the topic of 2006 marking his coronation into full-blooded movie manliness comes up during a press conference to promote his latest thriller Blood Diamond, he can't help but chuckle.
"I never thought about that during the course of my career -- choosing a specific role because it would make me seem more man-like.
"In Catch Me If You Can, I was eight or 10 years older (than the part). I knew it was maybe one of the last times I could play a character like that. These things are intangible. You do these movies and give it up to the world and you have no idea how people are going to react to you or the subject matter. I've been in movies and situations where I thought a film would turn out one way and it became an entirely different situation."
Still, while many pundits felt he was less than convincing as a middle-aged Howard Hughes in The Aviator, those same critics have praised the feral, electric machismo he brought to the surprise fall hit The Departed.
The reaction to that Martin Scorsese crime drama -- critical kudos and muscular box office -- has, in fact, put DiCaprio in the enviable position of competing with himself for Academy Award recognition.
In one corner, there's The Departed, a genre picture with an embarrassment of A-listers. In the other? Blood Diamond, opening Friday, in which DiCaprio portrays a South African mercenary in 1990s Sierra Leone who smuggles "conflict diamonds" -- diamonds used to fund civil wars and genocidal warlords.
Word is Warner Bros., which distributed both movies, will seek to land DiCaprio a best supporting actor Oscar nod for The Departed while pushing him in the lead category for Blood Diamond. But with the buzz for The Departed as thunderous as ever, who knows which category DiCaprio may be nominated in -- and for which film?
It's a dilemma, true, but, as DiCaprio notes, it's a happy one. "It's great. I don't know. Once again, (Blood Diamond) goes into the hands of all you people and you pick it apart and either compliment or insult it. We'll see."
Indeed, while The Departed boasts director Scorsese working at his live-wire best, Blood Diamond confronts the sort of social issue for which the Academy has always shown a soft spot.
In it, DiCaprio is teamed with Djimon Hounsou (Amistad) -- as a Mende fisherman torn from his family -- and Oscar winner Jennifer Connelly as a feisty American journalist. It's directed by Edward Zwick, who is known for sweeping, emotional epics such as The Last Samurai, Glory and Legends of the Fall.
DiCaprio, a well-known political activist and environmentalist, says he was attracted to the film's themes of "corporate responsibility. Africa is a prime target (for exploitation) -- whether it's gold or rubber or other natural resources. And here was a character who was exploiting people less fortunate than him.
"I wasn't seeking out films with social or political messages. It had to have entertainment value. It has to be a good movie and has to convey the message without the audience feeling like they're being preached to."
Still, the subject material alone -- to say the diamond conglomerates who traffic in conflict rocks are portrayed in a negative light is an understatement -- was enough to provoke the ire of the diamond industry.
Says producer Paula Weinstein, "We didn't set out to destroy the diamond industry."
"We're depicting a specific time in recent history where diamonds resulted in civil unrest," DiCaprio says. "(But) I never anticipated it would be this intense."
Not that the movie -- or its creators -- suggest consumers should boycott diamonds. Instead, DiCaprio -- and an epilogue prior to the closing credits -- encourages anyone looking to buy a rock to ensure its origins are legitimate.
"You have to go into the store and ask for a certificate -- some sort of authentication that this isn't a conflict diamond. As a consumer, you have to use your judgment."
When was the last time DiCaprio bought a diamond? "I don't remember. My mom is the only one I would buy something like that for and she hasn't wanted one for awhile now."
Would he purchase one now?
"I don't know -- probably not. But that isn't to say consumers shouldn't. They should use their best judgment and ask the right questions. Ultimately (non-conflict) diamonds are a source of economic stability in Africa."
To underline that point, while speaking to journalists, Connelly wears diamond earrings. She explains she purchased them after the retailer certified the diamonds were conflict-free.
"I think what I got out of the film is the desire to be a more ethical consumer."
Not surprisingly, given the hot buttons it stabs, the production has, in recent months, been dogged by controversy. For example, after cast, crew and Warner Bros. set up the Blood Diamond Fund to contribute funds to road repair, building schools and supplying prosthetics to amputees in the region, a news item reported one amputee -- who worked as an extra -- was claiming the studio had reneged on its pledge to buy him and others artificial limbs.
For their part, the studio and filmmakers say no such promises have been broken.
"We were very moved (by the people we met) and the cast and crew came together and donated privately," says Weinstein.
"Frankly we never wanted it to be public. It's not something that's important except to the people we met with and will hopefully help."
DiCaprio acknowledges he knew very little of the history of conflict diamonds prior to reading the Blood Diamond script.
"I was like anybody else. I heard whispers, but until I went there and read the script and did the research, I didn't understand what an impact diamonds had on Sierra Leone and other places in Africa."
DiCaprio spent six months on location -- the movie filmed in Sierra Leone as well on the southern coast near Port Edward, South Africa -- not only hearing first-hand accounts of bloodshed and unrest, but using the time to perfect his accent. (His character, Danny Archer, hails from Zimbabwe.)
"I spent a lot of time with locals, drinking beers with them, hearing their stories. A lot of the guys were from the South African military ... I wanted to go to Africa early because that whole area is alien to me."
After he finished filming, DiCaprio, who badly injured his knee during production, says, "What I was left with ... and this is not to sound trivial, was the power of the human spirit there.
"People have been through so much -- civil war for 30 years ... and yet literally people were still dancing in the streets. The joy and the energy and the happiness which exuded from everyone was unbelievable.
"It made me come back home and not want to listen to anyone's problems. I don't want to hear what we as (westerners) have to deal with when you're im-mersed in a place like that for six months and you see what people have to deal with, yet they are able to keep a positive attitude."
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