Leonardo DiCaprio to end Oscars losing streak by playing Mother Teresa.
On Oscar night earlier this March, Mathew McConaughey was named best actor for his portrayal of real-life AIDS patient Ron Woodroof. It was also the night that paved the way for Leonardo DiCaprio to continue his Oscars losing streak, now standing at an impressive five Oscar nominations and zero wins. He received nominations for his roles in “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “The Aviator” and “Blood Diamond.” For his latest movie, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” he received a nod as both an actor and producer, since the movie was nominated for best picture.
Immediately after McConaughey’s win, the Internet was rife with memes that joked about one of the most renown losing streaks, or rather curses than exist in Hollywood lore. One Internet user posed an interesting idea. What if, a few decades from now, an actor plays Leonardo DiCaprio and his struggles to obtain an Oscar, and manages to win an Oscar for the performance. The irony alone would kill DiCaprio if he isn’t already dead by that time.
DiCaprio felt the need to answer his critics, and did so yesterday by publicizing his next film project at the end of a question-and-answer session for “Wolf of Wall Street.” In time for Oscar season next year, he will be playing Roman Catholic missionary Mother Teresa on the big screen.
The audience was bemused and perplexed, since the idea seemed otherworldly. So far in his career, the global superstar hasn’t played a female character on film, and this movie will mark the first time he does so. Immediately, panel host Ryan Seacrest asked him why he made such a decision.
“I wanted to do something that I haven’t even thought of before. I’ve been criticized for playing a certain kind of character in recent times, rich snobs, basically. This was seen in “The Great Gatsby” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.” I thought that this was the best time to prove my opponents wrong by playing a character completely alien to me. Mother Teresa fit my requirements very well. Hopefully this gets me the Oscar in 2015.”
Seacrest kept nagging DiCaprio after the last remark, asking if the search for an Oscar was the primary reason for choosing such a project. DiCaprio admitted to it. He said that Oscar voters look for certain things in a performance, such as an actor’s efforts and ability to completely stray from his real-life persona. The actor then talked about Mathew McConaughey and Jared Leto, who won best actor and best supporting actor at this year’s Oscars respectively. McConaughey lost almost 50 pounds to play Ron Woodroof, and Leto played a transgender person, both starring in “Dallas Buyers Club.” With this latest movie prospect, DiCaprio will be playing a woman and losing weight, and he hopes that academy voters will see his efforts as surpassing this year’s Oscar winners by the time the Mother Teresa movie is out.
When discussing his next venture a bit further, the actor stated that he had already begun preparation for the role. At the time of the question-and-answer session, he was already on a highly restrictive diet of about 1,000 calories per day. But this wasn’t the most shocking detail to come out of the discussion. In an attempt to feminize his appearance and behavior, he had begun to take estrogen injections twice daily and his consumption of soy products had been raised exponentially. The evidence was all there in front of the reporters’ eyes. His voice had an audible feminine quality to it. His facial hair had almost deserted him, and you could see the development of breasts from under his shirt. The actor was not pulling a prank.
In order to hone his female behavioral actions, DiCaprio added that he managed to acquire the best help Hollywood could provide. He wanted to be trained by male actors who had already played female parts and such. The audience assumed that Jared Leto of “Dallas Buyers Club” was aiding him, but he said he turned to more seasoned professionals who have been playing women in film for years. The professionals he was referring to were Tyler Perry, Adam Sandler and Martin Lawrence. Perry is known for playing the character of Madea, while Lawrence is well recognized from the “Big Momma” franchise. Sandler most recently played a female character in the movie “Jack and Jill.”
No plot details were revealed concerning the movie, but from the information that emerged from the panel, it seems like the movie will focus on Mother Teresa’s time in India and her charitable work. As the discussion ended, DiCaprio was all smiles and grins, shaking hands and patting people’s shoulders. One might have assumed he already won the award for best actor.