It’s tough to believe, but Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio don’t have a single Oscar between them.
Depp is generally more concerned with important matters like how many skull necklaces one should rock for a Tuesday lunch meeting, but DiCaprio really wants a little gold guy – so much so that he’s reportedly planning to steamroll the reputation of anyone who stands in his way, including his old friend Johnny.
You see, Depp and DiCaprio both portrayed real-life historical figures this year, and short of playing a mentally challenged AIDS patient with a passion for ballroom dancing, that’s pretty much the best thing an A-list actor can do to ensure that he’ll be recognized by the Academy.
In fact, the consensus around Hollywood seems to be that DiCaprio gained 50 pounds of fat and 40 pounds of beard for The Revenant mainly because he thought the part had “Oscar” written all over it.
For his part, Depp played Whitey Bulger in Black Mass and made the odd choice to play the monstrous Boston gangster with all the scenery-chewing swagger of Captain Jack Sparrow – yet somehow made it work.
Anyway, both men will almost certainly receive nominations for their respective roles – and if you believe Star magazine, that really pisses DiCaprio off.
“Leo is so hungry for the Oscar that he can practically taste it,” a source tells the tabloid. “He sees Johnny as his only real competition.
“Leo has been trashing Johnny’s flops, like The Lone Ranger and Mortdecai. This goes all the way back to when they both starred in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, which Leo feels he carried.”
Leo’s not wrong on that last point. Depp sort of monotone Depped his way through Gilbert Grape, whereas DiCaprio turned in one of the most memorable performances of the ’90s at the tender age of 19.
Anyway, this might be the most one-sided rivalry since Drake vs. Meek Mill, as the part of Depp’s brain that cares about awards was probably fried out of existence during a 4-day bender with Keith Richards sometime in 2004.
In fact, Johnny recently said he “doesn’t want to win one of those things ever” when asked about his Oscar chances.
Leo, on the other hand, does care, and as anyone who’s ever seen one of his movies knows, when Leo cares about something, he gets pissed…then does that thing where he twists his face up like he’s trying not to cry.
Hopefully, the Academy will eventually take notice.