As Rick Dalton, a fading television Western star in 1969 Los Angeles, DiCaprio gave Quentin Tarantino’s film its funny, vulnerable centre.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) follows Rick and his stunt double Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt, as the industry changes around them. DiCaprio plays Rick’s insecurity with great comic timing, whether he is fluffing lines on set or trying to impress a young co-star, and he lets the character’s decency shine through the self-pity.
The film is a love letter to a vanished Hollywood, and Rick is its perfect guide: talented, anxious and still hoping for one more good role.
Image credit: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.