5 Reasons Leonardo DiCaprio Should Win Best Actor Oscar This Year (And 5 Reasons Why He Won't)

5. Victim Of His Own Critical Acclaim (He Won't)

It seems like consistency from movie stars would be a desirable trait, but past Oscar history points in the opposite direction. DiCaprio has been in solid to great films time and again, which has made it hard to single out an extraordinary performance in his filmography. Even if his movies didn't fare very well (J. Edgar, Revolutionary Road) his performances in them have been critically well-liked. In a weird way, it helps to have a dud or a knowing foray into the world of less-reputable cinema in order to distinguish a performance. Jaime Foxx was in Breakin' All the Rules the same year he was in Ray. Jennifer Lawrence appeared in House at the End of the Street. Monique had her entire filmography before Precious to point out how out of the ordinary and exceptional her performance was in that film. DiCaprio kind of went this way with Inception, but the critical acclaim surrounding that movie yet again cemented the idea that he lacks variety in his performances, and the Oscars like to award performances that take actors out of their comfort zones.