Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - TIME Entertainer of the Year has been awarded to Leonardo DiCaprio, marking a major highlight in a landmark season defined by the sweeping success of his latest film One Battle After Another, which surged to the forefront of Hollywood’s awards race on Monday after earning nine Golden Globe nominations to become one of the year’s most celebrated contenders. Over a career spanning more than 35 years, DiCaprio has established himself as one of the last true movie stars, building a filmography filled with acclaimed performances that continue to shape modern cinema, despite what critics have described as “a few cinematic missteps.” His long awaited Academy Award win for The Revenant in 2015 remains one of the defining milestones of his career.
The new film also marks his first ever collaboration with
director Paul Thomas Anderson, and critics are already describing it as his
finest work to date. The story explores themes of autocracy and fractured
parenthood through the character of a stoner ex revolutionary played by
DiCaprio who embarks on a desperate mission to rescue his daughter, portrayed
by Chase Infiniti, from an old nemesis played by Sean Penn. IndieWire critic
David Ehrlich praised the performance, writing that his “tetchy comic genius finds
a new dimension through his character’s natural deference.”
The new honour has also renewed conversations around
DiCaprio’s most powerful performances. His role in Catch Me If You Can in 2002,
directed by Steven Spielberg, holds a 96 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, with
reviewer Stanley Kauffmann stating that “DiCaprio has the breeze and aplomb to
keep it all bouncing along.” His performance in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of
the Flower Moon in 2023 carries a 93 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating, with
critic Chris Bumbray describing it as “the most complex character he's ever
played.” In The Departed released in 2006, he delivered an intense portrayal of
undercover cop Billy Costigan in a film that holds a 91 percent rating. His
environmental documentary Ice on Fire from 2019 earned a 90 percent score, with
CNN’s Brian Lowry calling it “A better than most film on the topic that gets
beyond the dire warnings to contemplating what can actually be done.”
One of his earliest performances in What’s Eating Gilbert
Grape in 1993 remains among his most celebrated, with critics describing his
teenage portrayal as “astonishing” and “enormous,” noting that he often
overshadowed Johnny Depp despite Depp being the established star at the time.
In Shutter Island released in 2010, DiCaprio delivered one of his most haunting
screen performances as U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels, earning praise for his raw,
psychologically intense portrayal of a man unraveling under grief, paranoia and
emotional trauma, with critics noting that his performance anchored the entire
film and elevated its dramatic impact.
With One Battle After Another already dominating awards
season conversations and his recognition as TIME’s Entertainer of the Year,
DiCaprio’s latest chapter is being viewed as both a career peak and a powerful
reaffirmation of his lasting influence in global cinema.
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