Possibly contributing to his title as one of the greatest actors in Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio has given plenty of climactic performances that tend to conclude with his character’s death. Having been in the film business since 1991, Leonardo DiCaprio has made a name for himself while playing tragic characters, with nearly a third of his films ending in his character dying. While it would make more sense for DiCaprio’s roles to end in death during crime or thriller movies, most of the movies he’s died in are more dramatic in nature.
Although launched into fame as an international heartthrob with Titanic in 1997, Leonardo DiCaprio was making emotionally poignant films long before, many of which ended in his character’s demise. Every movie that Leonardo DiCaprio has died in was subject to incredible performances, even when he was in his early acting days. For the most part, the movies where DiCaprio’s character fate is death are major blockbusters, with his performance being highly praised or even Oscar-nominated.
Considering approximately one-third of Leonardi DiCaprio’s movies end with his character’s death, it’s unsurprising that some of the most memorable aspects of such films have been the significance of his character’s inability to make it out alive. Whether he plays a villain, important ing role, controversial protagonist, or lovable leading man, Leonardo DiCaprio’s new and old movies where he dies typically rely on the importance of his character for their success. As his most recent movie also contributes to the growing list of his characters’ lack of survival, here’s a breakdown of every movie that Leonardo DiCaprio has died in.
The Quick And The Dead
The Quick and the Dead was Leonardo DiCaprio’s sixth-ever movie appearance, where he starred alongside big names Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone for the 1995 revisionist western. DiCaprio portrayed young gunslinger Fee “The Kid” Herod, who believed Hackman’s character John Herod to be his father and decided to win duels to impress him. After The Kid challenges Herod to a duel, the elder Herod fatally shoots DiCaprio’s character. In a tragic moment, The Kid reaches out his dying hand to Herod, which he refuses to take and claims it was never proven that he was The Kid’s father. DiCaprio’s tragic death contributed to the rage against legendary actor Gene Hackman’s character, thus setting up the final act that would lead to his demise.
Total Eclipse
DiCaprio’s demise on Total Eclipse was inevitable, as he was portraying a real-life figure: 19th-century French poet Arthur Rimbaud. The 1995 erotic historic drama followed Rimbaud and poet Paul Verlaine in their psychological and sexual seductions that were illegal at the time. After departing from their violent tryst, DiCaprio’s character travels the world, only to be diagnosed with cancer and away at age 37. Total Eclipse was the first example of DiCaprio portraying a romantic lead that meets a fatal end, whereas his significant other in the film survives.
Romeo + Juliet
Considering Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo and Juliet. The 1995 film began his trend of being cast as the tragic romantic lead, with DiCaprio’s final moments in Romeo + Juliet seeing him declare his love for Clare Danes’ Juliet before taking his own life by consuming poison. With such a powerful romantic tragedy performance as one of the most iconic characters in literature, it’s no wonder DiCaprio was featured in a similarly fatal role the next year.
Titanic
One of Leonardo DiCaprio’s most memorable film performances is Jack Dawson in Titanic's Jack has frozen to death while hanging onto the board, so she removes his hand and watches her true love sink below the surface.
The Departed
The third film in a partnership that would extend throughout the next two decades, Leonardo DiCaprio starred in Martin Scorsese’s movie The Departed in 2006. The film would go on to win Best Picture at the Oscars, partially due to the compelling performances of the lead actors including DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Matt Damon. DiCaprio portrayed undercover cop Trooper William “Billy” Costigan Jr, who is assigned to investigate Frank Costello’s crime ring. By the end of the film, Costigan has successfully infiltrated the gang by gaining Costello’s trust, and discovers that police officer Colin Sullivan has been part of the Irish mob all along. While trying to arrest Sullivan, Costigan is sent down an elevator by another trooper, though at the bottom of the building, another trooper proceeds to fatally shoot DiCaprio’s character before revealing himself to be a mole for the mob. Martin Scorsese's f-bomb dropping movie was another example of DiCaprio’s good-guy character tragically dying in a surprise twist.
Blood Diamond
Although one of DiCaprio's controversially-accented Blood Diamond role was another example of his star power making audiences root for him, where he dies in the tragic finale while trying to altruistically help others.
J. Edgar
Similar to Total Eclipse, it was no surprise that DiCaprio died in the movie J. Edgar considering it was a biopic of the deceased man’s life. After portraying FBI director J. Edgar Hoover’s historic career and life, DiCaprio’s titular role ends with a scene depicting the controversial figure’s later years, concluding with Hoover being found dead of a heart attack at home. J. Edgar is one of the only instances in which Leonardo DiCaprio dies in a movie of a natural cause in old age instead of tragic circumstances at a younger age.
Django Unchained
In DiCaprio’s first collaboration with the gory director Quentin Tarantino, the actor portrayed the menacing, wealthy slave-owner Calvin J. Candie (which inspired a Django Unchained's high kill-count movie is one of Leonardo DiCaprio’s only deaths in which his demise isn’t tragic nor garners sympathy.
The Great Gatsby
Tackling another literary legend, Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed the titular Jay Gatsby in 2013’s Tobey Maguire’s Great Gatsby character explains that Gatsby was subject to immorality in pursuit of his wealth and attempt to win back his true love. Considering Gatsby is a tragic character whose death still needs to be sympathized with by audiences, the casting of the revered DiCaprio worked to achieve sadness in the face of the complex character’s demise.
Don’t Look Up
Although Leonardo DiCaprio experienced a lengthy gap in having his movie characters die, Adam McKay’s divisively-reviewed 2021 movie end of Don’t Look Up, Mindy’s failure to neutralize the threat by pleading its dangers to the media and government have contributed to the planet’s failure to destroy the incoming comet. Don’t Look Up ends with Mindy reconnecting with his family as the comet nears Earth, sharing a meal as the Earth shakes and the comet makes , thus obliterating Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in addition to (almost) everyone on the planet.
