Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the greatest actors of these last two decades. In total, DiCaprio has been nominated for 192 total awards and has won 78 of them. On February 28, 2016 he got his sixth chance to come away with a highly coveted Oscar. His previous nominations had been for the following: Best Actor in a Supporting Role in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape; Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in The Aviator, Blood Diamond, The Wolf of Wall Street, and The Revenant. The Wolf of Wall Street was also nominated for best picture, but DiCaprio did not receive either of the two Oscars he was nominated for that year.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s first Oscar nomination was for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1994 for his work in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. In this movie the main character, Gilbert Grape, was played by the one and only Johnny Depp. DiCaprio played Arnie Grape, the developmentally disabled brother of Gilbert. This move takes place in the small town of Endora, Iowa. Their father had hung himself 17 years earlier, and their mother was so obese that she could hardly care for the children. This meant that Gilbert had to raise his disabled bother, Arnie, alone.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s second Oscar nomination came over a decade later. It was for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in 2005 for his performance in The Aviator. The Aviator itself was five total Oscars that year. DiCaprio played legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes. The movie depicted Hughes’ career from the late 1920s to the mid-1940s. This movie is a biographical drama film and is based on the 1993 book Howard Hughes: The Secret Life.

DiCaprio’s next Oscar nomination came just a few years later. In 2007 he was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his work in Blood Diamond. The title refers to blood diamonds that were mined in war zones to support conflicts. Leonardo DiCaprio play Danny Archer, a Rhodesian gunrunner jailed while trying to smuggle diamonds into Liberia. This story depicts a normal fisherman, a gunrunner, and a collection of businessman all fighting over the most precious diamond, the pink diamond.

DiCaprio’s next nomination was in 2014 for one of my favorite movies of all time, The Wolf of Wall Street. The movie is based on the book written by Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street. DiCaprio plays the Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort, in this film. Belfort was a Wall Street stockbroker in the 1990s. He made millions committing crimes including money laundering, fraud, and stock-market manipulation. This movie starts by showing Belfort (DiCaprio) on his first day on Wall Street. It then takes us through his ups and down until it turns to all upsides when he starts his company, Stratton Oakmont. We then see how he makes his money, and how he is eventually caught by the FBI and convicted.

DiCaprio’s sixth nomination and first Oscar win was for this past year’s The Revenant. The Revenant won three total Oscars that year. DiCaprio’s play a frontiersman in the 1820s named Hugh Glass. Glass is mauled by bear, watches his son die in front of him, is almost killed by a member of his hunting group, and then is left for dead. He now most fight for survival against both the weather and Indians. He fights to return to the fort and seeks revenge against his former confidant who left him for dead.

The sixth time was the charm for Leonardo DiCaprio, finally winning his Oscar for his performance in The Revenant. He made five great performances before he was properly recognized for his work, but DiCaprio never let that get him down. He just working until he finally got the coveted Oscar award. It took going in and out of frozen rivers, sleeping in animal carcasses, and eating bison to win his Oscar, but we all saw how happy DiCaprio was when his named was called. According to DiCaprio, all the work was definitely worth it.