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.
