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50 free Leonardo DiCaprio trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Leonardo DiCaprio was named after a da Vinci painting his pregnant mother was looking at in Florence, turned down a stage name of Lenny Williams, almost quit acting at 11 to breakdance, and calls a run of Matchbox car commercials his first real role. He went from Critters 3 and Growing Pains to an Oscar nomination at 19, to Titanic and Leo-mania, and then spent two decades deliberately dismantling the teen-idol image with Scorsese, Nolan, Tarantino, Iñárritu and Paul Thomas Anderson. This quiz covers the whole arc: his parents and childhood in Los Angeles, the early TV and film roles, the films he turned down, the Scorsese partnership, the Inception payday, the Revenant shoot, his production company and documentaries, the Formula E team, the foundation and the UN role, plus the odd detail about islands, stitches and a returned Marlon Brando Oscar. Fifty questions, four options each, with a short explanation after every answer. Play on your phone or print it for a movie night.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which city was Leonardo DiCaprio born in 1974?
Los Angeles
He grew up in Echo Park and Los Feliz, where his divorced parents lived in twin cottages with a shared garden so they could raise him together.
Q 02DiCaprio's mother Irmelin was a legal secretary from which country?
Germany
Her father Wilhelm was German and her mother Helene a Russian immigrant; the Italian side of the family comes from his father George's paternal grandparents.
Q 03His mother first felt him kick while looking at a da Vinci painting in which museum?
The Uffizi
That Florence gallery visit is why he is called Leonardo; his middle name, Wilhelm, comes from his German grandfather.
Q 04An early agent wanted DiCaprio to adopt which more 'American' stage name?
Lenny Williams
He refused, then went jobless for a year and a half through about 100 auditions before his father talked him out of quitting.
Q 05At age 11, DiCaprio nearly quit acting to pursue which hobby?
Breakdancing
He had just placed second in a competition in his mother's homeland. As a child his other career plan was marine biology.
Q 06Which toy brand's commercials does DiCaprio describe as his first role?
Matchbox
He was 14. He also sold Kraft Singles, Bubble Yum and Apple Jacks, and later landed about 20 commercials through a family connection.
Q 07On which sitcom did DiCaprio play Luke Brower, a homeless boy taken in by the family?
Growing Pains
He was brought in to attract young female viewers, did not lift the ratings, and left before the show ended; co-star Joanna Kerns remembered him teasing everyone on set.
Q 08DiCaprio made his film debut in 1991 in which low-budget horror sequel?
Critters 3
He has called it possibly one of the worst films of all time and described his part as a no-depth standard kid with blond hair.
Q 09Which actor handpicked DiCaprio from 400 hopefuls to co-star in This Boy's Life?
Robert De Niro
The 1993 film adapts Tobias Wolff's memoir, with Ellen Barkin as the mother and the older star as the abusive stepfather. Director Michael Caton-Jones had to mentor the teenager on set manners.
Q 10Which 1993 film earned the 19-year-old DiCaprio his first Oscar nomination?
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
He played Johnny Depp's developmentally disabled brother Arnie and became the seventh-youngest nominee ever in the supporting actor category.
Q 11Sharon Stone paid DiCaprio's salary herself on which 1995 Sam Raimi western?
The Quick and the Dead
Sony had gone cold on the casting. The film flopped and drew mixed reviews, but it put him opposite Gene Hackman and Russell Crowe.
Q 12In Total Eclipse DiCaprio played Arthur Rimbaud; who played Paul Verlaine?
David Thewlis
He inherited the part after River Phoenix died. A San Francisco Chronicle critic winced at his Southern California twang next to Thewlis's cultivated British accent.
Q 13Who played Juliet opposite DiCaprio in the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet?
Claire Danes
Q 21The Beach (2000) was adapted from a 1996 novel by which author?
Alex Garland
The $50 million film tripled its budget but was panned, and the production was criticised for damaging its Thai location, which the star later helped restore.
Q 22DiCaprio says he was rejected for Moulin Rouge! (2001) because of his poor what?
Singing
He auditioned right after shooting The Beach; Ewan McGregor got the part of Christian.
Q 23DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire blocked the US release of which improvised black-and-white film?
Don's Plum
They had done it as a short as a favour to a friend; when it was stretched to feature length to cash in on their fame, a court order kept it out of the US and Canada.
He was wary of another Shakespeare adaptation until his father nudged him to look harder at the director's work; a two-week workshop sealed it.
Q 14Romeo + Juliet won DiCaprio a Silver Bear for Best Actor at which film festival?
Berlin
It was 1997. Film scholar Murray Pomerance credits his new popularity with making the film profitable within days of release.
Q 15In Marvin's Room (1996), DiCaprio played Hank, the troubled son of which actress's character?
Meryl Streep
The film reunites two estranged sisters through tragedy; Keaton played the other sister. Entertainment Weekly said the young actor held his own against both veterans.
Q 16Which 1997 film did DiCaprio turn down in order to make Titanic?
Boogie Nights
In 2025 he said he regretted it, calling it a profound movie of his generation. James Cameron had to talk him past his doubts about the Titanic part.
Q 17How many Academy Awards did Titanic win?
11
A record haul, but no acting nomination for its male lead; more than 200 fans staged a protest against the Academy over the snub.
Q 18In which 1998 film did DiCaprio play both King Louis XIV and his secret twin?
The Man in the Iron Mask
Randall Wallace's swashbuckler took $180 million on a $35 million budget; Owen Gleiberman called him an actor with the face of a mischievous angel who looked too young for the part.
Q 19Playing twins in a 1998 film earned DiCaprio a Golden Raspberry in which category?
Worst Screen Couple
He was paired with himself. Two years later The Beach brought a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor.
Q 20DiCaprio left an early version of American Psycho after disagreements with which director?
Oliver Stone
His reported fee had been $20 million. He took The Beach instead, where his character joins a secret island commune in the Gulf of Thailand.
Q 24Which Star Wars prequel role did DiCaprio turn down?
Anakin Skywalker
He said he did not feel ready to take that dive; Hayden Christensen played the part in Attack of the Clones (2002).
Q 25Catch Me If You Can is based on the life of which real con artist?
Frank Abagnale Jr.
He ran cheque fraud worth millions before he turned 19. The film took $355 million and was for years his second-biggest hit after Titanic.
Q 26Catch Me If You Can was shot across 147 locations in how many days?
52
Spielberg's pace made it, in DiCaprio's words, the most adventurous, super-charged movie-making he had experienced.
Q 27What is the name of DiCaprio's Irish-American gang leader in Gangs of New York?
Amsterdam Vallon
Set in the Five Points in the mid-1800s, the eight-month shoot cost $103 million, then the most expensive film Scorsese had made. Daniel Day-Lewis played Bill the Butcher.
Q 28DiCaprio's production company, founded in 2004, is named after what?
An Italian road
Appian Way's first executive-produced film was The Assassination of Richard Nixon with Sean Penn, screened at Cannes in 2004.
Q 29DiCaprio first developed The Aviator with which director before Scorsese took over?
Michael Mann
The Howard Hughes biopic grossed $213 million on a $110 million budget and won him his first Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama.
Q 30How much muscle did DiCaprio gain to play undercover trooper Billy Costigan in The Departed?
15 pounds
He also visited Boston to meet people connected to the Irish Mob, and described the character as living in a constant 24-hour panic attack.