Actor Leonardo DiCaprio has been the poster boy of environmentalism since his early days of success following 'Titanic'. He is a skilled orator who has provided voice to documentaries regarding the environment, and has actively communicated with politicians and people in positions of power. Through his non-profit organization, he has raised awareness about global warming, renewable energy, and the importance of preserving Earth's biodiversity. At different times, he has donated to support education, orphaned children, Haiti earthquake victims, Hurricane Harvey survivors and LGBT groups. Here we look at some of his most remarkable quotes from interviews and conference addresses. Apart from his acting career, he primarily talks about the environment, climate change, endangered species, and his dreams and visions.
I don't know if I'm more confident than ever before, because I definitely had confidence when I was starting out. Maybe I have less confidence now that I did then.
Leonardo DiCaprio
When you are given an opportunity to make a film like 'Body of Lies' - and I would put 'Blood Diamond' in the same category - of course you jump at these opportunities.
I love science fiction, but I have a hard time feeling for characters in a galaxy far away. Choosing movies is the one thing in my life where there's no compromising.
I haven't died in a movie in a while,'The Departed,' 'Body of Lies,' 'Revolutionary Road,' 'Shutter Island' and 'Inception.' I guess I did die in 'The Departed.'
Leonardo DiCaprio
I went to a concert once when I was a little kid and ran up onstage, started dancing, started saying anything that came to my head. I was like a little vaudevillian.
Leonardo DiCaprio
My friends have named me the person they least want to do extreme adventures with, because I always seem to be very close to being part of a disaster. If a cat has nine lives, I think I've used a few.
I play fictitious characters often solving fictitious problems. I believe mankind has looked at climate change in the same way, as if it were a fiction.
Leonardo DiCaprio
I just really love doing what I do. I know every career is fleeting and there will be time periods when I don't get the opportunities that I'm getting right now, so I am taking advantage of them.
I'm just starting to scratch the surface of what really makes me happy and it's taken me a while to admit that acting like a little child and being a jerk and a punk is fun.
The role of Rimbaud is one of the most important roles to play for a young actor.
Leonardo DiCaprio
The good thing about acting is that it always keeps you on your toes... It's not like any other job where you can go in and do the same thing as yesterday.
It's easy to fall into the trap of believing all the hype that's written about you... Who knows? In a couple of years, you might find me in the loony bin!
I really hate relaxing. I've done three movies in a row, worked for two years straight, and to me, idle time is the devil's workshop. I like to focus on something.
If a studio is going to offer me the opportunity to invite my mother and grandmother and all my friends to visit me free of charge in Thailand, I'm going to take that opportunity.
I've always been a slow starter. My first date was with a girl called Cessi. We had a beautiful relationship over the phone all summer, and then when we met, I couldn't look her in the eye.
Money was always on my mind when I was growing up. So I was always wondering how we were going to afford this and that. Acting seemed to be a shortcut out of the mess.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Meryl Streep does things I would never have thought possible... Her presence on screen is outstanding.
I don't see why I can't have friends of both sexes without wild rumors being circulated. It's crazy.
Leonardo DiCaprio
My dad's probably one of the kindest people in the world. When I was younger that's not how I was- I was a little spoiled brat.
Leonardo DiCaprio
I don't ask other actors questions. I think that's too intrusive. I just watch. I don't want to be constricted to an idea of what acting is by anyone else. I want to take my own education.
You do need parental guidance and I was in a great position with both my mum and dad. They split when I was a baby but even though I stayed with my mom they were both very much involved in my upbringing.
I've managed to keep a clear head and remain sane in this business because I remain a kid off-camera.
Leonardo DiCaprio
I really don't know what I'm doing... I don't. It's terrible. I go in there and I learn how to be like the character and do the best I can, and that's all I really do.
I can remember getting rejected systematically by casting directors as a young kid. I felt like the biggest outsider there ever was; that I'd never belong in that club.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Women have been the most persecuted people throughout all of recorded history, more than any race or religion.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Drugs? Every one has a choice and I choose not to do drugs.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Everywhere I go, somebody is staring at me, I don't know if people are staring because they recognize me or because they think I'm a weirdo.
Brothers don't necessarily have to say anything to each other - they can sit in a room and be together and just be completely comfortable with each other.
Television is better than it's ever been in history. A lot of stories are being pushed - because of how complicated they are to make - toward Netflix and other channels on cable.
Leonardo DiCaprio
There is a lot of speculation about what women are attracted to, and there are a lot of misconceptions.
Leonardo DiCaprio
With Romeo and Juliet, you're talking about two people who meet one night, and get married the same night. I believe in love at first sight-but it hasn't happened to me yet.
When I was 14, I was on the cover of 'Bop' and 'Tiger Beat.' Every two months, I would see a new kid's face, and I remember saying, 'This is not something that lasts very long.'
I've always been spontaneous and outgoing... I've tried lots of things so I've got some good life experiences, which is great 'cause it means I've got lots of material to work with as an actor.
As a young boy, I was obsessed with endangered species and the extinct species that men killed off. Biology was the subject in school that I was incredibly passionate about.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Raising awareness on the most pressing environmental issues of our time is more important than ever.
The best thing about acting is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get paid for it... It's a great outlet. I'm not really sure who I am - it seems I change every day.
The first kiss I had was the most disgusting thing in my life. The girl injected about a pound of saliva into my mouth, and when I walked away I had to spit it all out.
I'm not the kind of person who tries to be cool or trendy, I'm definitely an individual.
Leonardo DiCaprio
School, I never truly got the knack of. I could never focus on things I didn't want to learn. Math is just the worst. To this day, I can't concentrate on it. People always say, 'You should have tried harder.' But actually, I cheated a lot because I could not sit and do homework.
Leonardo DiCaprio
I have learned from my experiences in this industry that there is absolutely no way to control people's opinions on your performance in your movie. You go out there, promote your film and hope people like the work you did.
Leonardo DiCaprio
It's always this grand search in the industry to find good material. Whenever there is good material, they all jump on it, and it's like a food fight to get it made. That's why so many things take years and years to develop because it all shows up on screen.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Considering all that's happened in my life, I feel like I'm a pretty levelheaded person that has remained happy and not let my shortcomings overtake the better part of me. I'm fulfilling the things I wanted to fulfill, and I'm still sane.
I grew up when I was 15 when I had my first opportunity in movies. I watched every great movie for a year and a half, and since then I've asked myself how I can emulate such artistry. That's really my motivation. I want to do something as good as my heroes have done.
Leonardo DiCaprio
I get unhappy doing things that I'm not passionate about. Because I feel like I'm squandering this incredible gift I've been given to finance films. As soon as my name alone was enough to make this happen, I vowed to myself that I was going to work with directors who were changing cinema, doing something important, you know?
Leonardo DiCaprio
I don't think I ever expected anything like an Oscar ever, to tell you the truth. That is not my motivation when I do these roles. I really am motivated by being able to work with great people and create a body of work that I can look back and be proud of.
As a kid, I was going to be a marine biologist or an actor. When I became successful as an actor, I said, 'Well, maybe I can lend a voice to this with an equal passion.' You realize how lucky we are and how destructive we've been and what little regard we have for the natural world.
If you have the ability to convince somebody of something that you don't necessarily think is the case, it's a valuable asset. Not that I'm, like, a pathological liar, but we spend most of the day not fully being honest, you know?
I love being immersed in nature, going to places in the world that are pristine and untouched by man. It's almost a religious experience when you go to a place like the Amazon, and there's no civilisation for thousands of miles.
I've never tried to reach a certain demographic of an audience or try to say, 'OK, now I'm going to do this type of film to transition myself into more adult roles.' Or a romantic hero. Or whatever it may be - you know what I mean?
I prefer ordinary girls - you know, college students, waitresses, that sort of thing. Most of the girls I go out with are just good friends. Just because I go out to the cinema with a girl, it doesn't mean we are dating.
Leonardo DiCaprio
My parents know I was outgoing as a child, and whenever people came over, I'd automatically do impressions of them as soon as they left; it was my mom's favorite thing. Yes, I grew up in Hollywood, but not in any rich neighborhood.
Leonardo DiCaprio
I believe, you know, as history unfolds, certain films will disappear, and certain ones will stand the test of time. And you never know which ones those are. And you've just got to go for the opportunities of films you think might be memorable.
I've been very lucky to have achieved a lot of the things that I dreamt of achieving as a young man. But, at the end of the day - and I truly believe this - it is not about achieving great wealth or success. Because they don't bring happiness, ultimately.
Leonardo DiCaprio
I don't think anyone really gets used to being recognized around the world. It kind of feels like a videogame at times, especially with paparazzi and people following you and things of that nature. But it's part of who I am now.
I have to say that whatever decisions I make, I really do think that movie making is a director's medium. They are the people that ultimately shape the film, and a director can take great material and turn it into garbage if they are not capable of making a good movie.
People are always like, 'It must be so hard for you, not to be able to leave your house. I'm like, 'No, I go where I want and do whatever I want all the time.' 'No, you walk down the street?' 'Yeah, I do all the time.' 'Really?' 'Yeah, all the time.'
I did imitations of anyone who came to my parents' house, and that was my identity at school - if there were ten minutes to lunch, and the teacher was done with the lesson, he'd say, 'Okay, Leo, get up there and do something.'
Leonardo DiCaprio
My parents, who were split up, were so good at keeping my environment strong and keeping everything around me not focused on the fact that we were poor. They got me culture. They took me to museums. They showed art to me. They read to me. And my mother drove two hours a day to take me to University Elementary School.
Hollywood is a very volatile place where artists come in, and they essentially say they want to belong. It's incredibly vulnerable to be an actor and also get criticism at a young age when you're formulating who you are. We've seen a lot of people fall victim to that, and it's very unfortunate.
I am trying to do the best work I possibly can and making movies that will have resonance for years to come. I think if you try for an Oscar or a goal like that, the more people are going to see it as transparent. It's not on my radar. If it happens, great, but I'm happy to continue working as I am, really.
Leonardo DiCaprio
I don't watch anything of mine much. I haven't gone to drama school, or college, either. I just like to watch other actors in action. I learned so much from working with De Niro. I'd be in a scene with him where I was supposed to be acting, and I was just watching.
Leonardo DiCaprio
I remember reading the book in high school and always thinking of Gatsby as this strong, stoic, suave, mysterious man who had everything under control. But when I read it as an adult, I realised he is a hollow man, a shell of a person trying to find meaning, who is not completely in touch with reality.
Leonardo DiCaprio
The bottom line is, when it comes to an actor and his performance, whether nominated or not, it simply has to do with whether that character had enough resonance with the audience. You know, to the filmgoers. And that something that you can't control.
