Leonardo Dicaprio as J. Edgar
Courtesy: Warner Bros.
Larry Moss has been coaching Leonardo DiCaprio for many years for such films as The Aviator, The Departed, and Shutter Island. When Leo was set to play J. Edgar Hoover in J. Edgar, Moss recommended that Leo work with Jean-Louis Rodrigue to find the complex psycho-physical life of this character. The extraordinary script by Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black, traces Hoover from his 20’s to his 70’s, a challenging physical and movement transformation for DiCaprio and a magnificent opportunity to collaborate with Jean-Louis.
The response from audiences and critics has been powerful and controversial. The New York Times paid tribute to J. Edgar by confirming that the film was:
Anchored by a forceful, vulnerable Leonardo DiCaprio, who lays bare J. Edgar Hoover’s humanity, despite the odds and an impasto of old-coot movie makeup, this latest jolt from Mr. Eastwood is a look back at a man divided and of the ties that bind private bodies with public politics and policies. With sympathy — for the individual, not his deeds — it portrays a 20th-century titan who, with secrets and bullets, a will to power and the self-promotional skills of a true star, built a citadel of information in which he burrowed deep.
Rolling Stone Magazine adds:
He doesn’t scare off easy from acting challenges. At 37, he’s already played billionaire Howard Hughes (The Aviator), junkie Jim Carroll (The Basketball Diaries), great imposter Frank Abagnale Jr. (Catch Me If You Can), and Shakespeare’s Romeo. In J. Edgar, DiCaprio ages from his twenties to his seventies to play America’s feared and loathed top cop. And despite being buried in layers of (often too obvious) prosthetic latex, DiCaprio is a roaring wonder in the role.
J. Edgar won:
-Best Film, 2011 American Film Institute Award -Best Actor, 2011 National Board Review
-Nominated Best Actor, 2011 Golden Globe Award -Nominated Best Actor, 2011 Australian Film Institute
-Nominated Best Actor, 2011 Screen Actors Guild
