50 God-Tier Acting Moments Buried in Bad Movies
22. "We Are All Going To Die!" - Don’t Look Up
As hard as this is to believe, once upon a time, Leonardo DiCaprio was pigeon-holed into heart-throb roles and wasn't taken seriously as an actor. He had to work very hard to get to the level of acclaim he now enjoys, and we are all better for it. Since his 2016 Oscar win, DiCaprio's film performances have been less frequent, and it is a bit unfortunate that he chose Don't Look Up as his first post-COVID role.
After all, Don't Look Up is an empty, patronizing, and smug piece of commentary on climate change that's about as subtle as a Transformers movie. DiCaprio has always been vocal about climate change, and so that was probably why he joined the picture, but the material still feels rather beneath him.
Nevertheless, in Don't Look Up, DiCaprio still managed to remind us that he's one of America's greatest living actors, especially in this particular scene. The moment sees his character, Dr. Randall Mindy, have the mother of all freakouts on national television as he furiously berates everyone for their failure to act on a comet heading towards Earth.
OTT in the best kind of way, this is an explosive and hilarious bit of over-acting that reminds us all of DiCaprio's incredible gifts, and also of how well he does a freakout.