Hammond, Michael (2011) Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn: Acting authentic. In, Pomerance, Murray (ed.) Shining in Shadows: Movie Stars of the 2000s. (Star Decades Series: American Culture/American Cinema) Biggleswade, GB. Rutgers University Press. (In Press)
Abstract
The star personas of Sean Penn and Leonardo DiCaprio are built around a publicly celebrated ability to act. Each established early in his career performances that were remarked upon as revealing a character while concealing the actor. They are consistently described in the press as disappearing into their roles. Both are also connected, although in different ways, to American traditions of film acting, whether linked to the Actor’s Studio “method” as with Penn or through endorsements by Robert De Niro and Martin Scorcese as in the case of DiCaprio. In this decade they both chose to redirect the presentation of their private selves through the support of political causes. In this article a comparison of these performers demonstrates two instances in which the overlap between stars’ public and private lives is utilized to publicize film projects, build audience expectations, and reveal themes of historical and social change against which the life of a recognizable and “real” individual plays out.
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