Along with Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the very few A-list stars in Hollywood that comes to mind when you think of actors to have enjoyed decades of sustained success at the top of the industry without ever having ever headlined a straightforward action movie. Of course, DiCaprio has done a little bit of running and gunning in his time in Blood Diamond and Body of Lies, but they could both be described as political thrillers where the spectacle was very much secondary to the plot.
Ironically, the closest thing to a standard effects-driven studio epic that the Academy Award winner has lent his name to is the second biggest box office hit of his career behind Titanic, although it would be a huge disservice to Christopher Nolan’s time-bending Inception to call it an action movie. Sure, it features some massive set pieces and more than a couple of shootouts, but the Best Picture nominee also happens to be one of the most original and inventive blockbusters of the modern era.
From today, Inception is now part of the Netflix library once again, along with an altogether different DiCaprio effort. Shutter Island was his fourth collaboration with Martin Scorsese, and so far the only one out of their five projects together not to be nominated for the top prize at the Academy Awards, while it remains one of the more underrated entries in the director’s back catalogue full of classics.
DiCaprio is set to make his Netflix debut in Adam McKay’s star-studded upcoming comedy Don’t Look Up, but until it arrives later this year, fans will have to make do with two of the better outings in the 46 year-old’s filmography instead.