16 Surprising Things About Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo DiCaprio has been the internet's favorite son. His struggle to get an Oscar was our struggle.

For over a decade, we've been rooting for him to win that thing. But in 2016, he finally got it after doing risque things with a bear in the Revenant. Or something.

But there's so much more to him than that. In fact, here are 16 things you probably had no idea about.

SHAREwith Leo fans who wouldn't have any idea about these!

1. A Time reporter once called him "boring" because he was able to rattle off 20 endangered species from memory.

2. He keeps his body pure: he's never done drugs before. 

For his role in Wolf of Wall Street, he had to speak to an on-set drug expert to make his acting realistic.

3. His could have been named Lenny Williams.

When he was ten, he was told to switch his name to something less "ethnic" and "more friendly and American."

4. His best friend is Spider-Man.

Spider-Manactor Tobey Maguire and Leo are longtime friends since they were teenagers and have known each other for over 20 years.

"Draw me like your French girls" may have been actually inspired by Kate Winslet...

5. After finding out that she'd be naked in front of him, Kate Winslet flashed Leo to break the ice.

6. He had obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child.

When he played Howard Hughes in The Aviator, he told Katie Couric that he related to the character's obsessive-compulsive disorder.

7. He was kicked off a children's show for being a brat.

When DiCaprio was five, he first appeared on screen on children’s TV show Romper Room. The toddler was fired for being too disruptive.

8. He carried around a pet lizard on the set of Titanic.

He loves his pets, his co-star Kathy Bates confirmed.

He's also a fan of non-ironic spoken word...

9. His dad sold comic books.

But his parents divorced when he was still a toddler – and DiCaprio was mostly raised by his mother, a legal secretary from Germany.

10. He has a song written after him. 

The Flemish chick-rock band, K3, wrote a song called "I'm in Love with Leonardo DiCaprio."

11. He is the star of a spoken word piece called "Global Warning."

12. Quentin Tarantino wanted him to play the Nazi colonel Landa in Inglorious Basterds. 

He said "naw" and the role went to Christoph Waltz.

He owns a super-villain lair...

13. He was 19 when he was nominated for his first Oscar. It'd be 23 years until his tussle with a bear actually got him one.

He played Arnie in What's Eating Gilbert Grape and called it "the most fun I've ever had."

14. During his earlier party years, he never tipped.

15. Both he and Kate Winslet created a fund for the last remaining survivor of the Titanic.

Millvina Dean had broken her hip and "Jack and Rose" wanted to make sure she never had to worry about paying for her expenses.

16. He bought a freaking island.

Leonardo DiCaprio bought Blackadore Caye in Belize, more than ten years ago. The island was plagued by overfishing, deforestation and a disappearing coastline. He's opening up a eco-friendly resort in 2018.

SHARE with fellow Leo lovers who screamed when he finally got his Oscar.

Main and collage image viaSmash