8 Actors Who Got Famous Off Just One Scene

3. Leonardo DiCaprio - This Boy's Life

Steve Carell Bruce Almighty
Warner Bros. Pictures

Leonardo DiCaprio has been in the entertainment industry since he was just a young boy, with the actor famously dropping out of high school to pursue a career in acting.

That career didn't come overnight, of course, and the young Leo found himself working commercials and having the odd guest spot on TV shows such as The New Lassie and Roseanne. Having made his big-screen debut in 1991's Critters 3, it was two years later in This Boy's Life that DiCaprio cemented himself as one of the hottest rising stars in the business.

As troubled Toby Wolff, the future A-lister delivered a performance that was one of the best of the decade, period. Sharing screen time with Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin was always going to be a great moment for such a fledgling career, and it's DiCaprio's dynamic with De Niro in particular that stands out as the foundation of the movie.

The legendary De Niro plays Dwight, the abusive partner of Toby's mother - and it's the first time that Dwight shows his true vicious and cruel nature to Toby that DiCaprio really shines. A similarly stunning performance was around the corner for Leo in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and from there he was soon to find himself in the likes of Romeo + Juliet and Titanic as he became one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.