Tom Holland and Leonardo DiCaprio have both added the iconic Shakespearean character Romeo to their acting resumes, but one of them is better…
Besides the fact that they’re both celebrated actors with huge fanbases, now Tom Holland and Leonardo DiCaprio have one major thing in common: they have both played Romeo Montague in Romeo and Juliet. Holland was cast as the famous star-crossed lover in the West End production of the Shakespeare play. According to Deadline, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers joined the cast as his iconic love interest. As Fandomwire pointed out, now fans will have to decide whether Holland can beat DiCaprio’s popular turn in Baz Luhrmann’s intense and wild 1996 adaptation. Romeo + Juliet was so popular that it is one of DiCaprio’s movies that grossed over $100 million.
In this article, we’ll take a look at whether Leonardo DiCaprio or Tom Holland is the best Romeo, along with what DiCaprio said about playing his iconic role.
Why Leonardo DiCaprio Is A Better Romeo Than Tom Holland In Romeo And Juliet
Even though Tom Holland is talented, Leonardo DiCaprio will always be a better Romeo than Holland because his role in the 1996 movie is iconic and beloved. People associate DiCaprio with the role since Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of the famous story is known for being fun, cool, and modern. Even though other actors have portrayed Romeo, there was something particularly compelling about DiCaprio’s role. He played Romeo as young and innocent as he is supposed to be. But he also ensured that the character was captivating, fun, and light-hearted.
Baz Luhrmann shared in a 2021 interview with Forbes that he cast DiCaprio quickly because he could tell he was perfect for the part. It sounds like he couldn’t imagine anyone else playing Romeo. No matter how good Holland is in the stage production, critics and fans might not say that about him.
Fans will always think of Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo because Romeo + Juliet happened at just the right time for the actor, who appeared in a few great movies before Titanic. After he broke out in the 1993 movie What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, he played Jim Caroll in The Basketball Diaries, which was released in 1995. Once he played Romeo in 1996, his career was set, and he would soar even further in 1997 with the release of Titanic. No matter how good Tom Holland’s performance is, it’s hard to say that fans will remember him as Romeo.
There is another reason why DiCaprio will always be the best Romeo: the chemistry between DiCaprio and Claire Danes was impressive. While Holland might have chemistry with Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, the 1996 adaptation played up the love story’s teen angst. DiCaprio and Danes worked perfectly together.
Who Else Starred In The 1996 Movie Romeo + Juliet?
Jamie Kennedy (Sampson)
Jesse Bradford (Balthasar)
Paul Sorvino (Fulgencio Capulet)
Christina Pickels (Romeo’s mom)
Brian Dennehy (Ted Montague)
Paul Rudd (Dave Paris)
Mercutio (Harold Perrineau)
While Tom Holland is a popular actor, his background in superhero and action movies proves that he is better suited to those types of stories. Although fans picture DiCaprio as the romantic and melodramatic Romeo, fans picture Holland as Spider-Man/Peter Parker. At the time of this writing, he played that part in six movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor also earned a lot of money playing Spider-Man.
Of course, actors can be versatile and try new things, and Holland has proven his acting chops in his MCU films. However, it’s hard to say that he will make a huge impact in the Romeo and Juliet stage play. No matter what, fans will always associate him with Spider-Man.
Holland dreamed of playing Spider-Man, which proves that this was the right career move. He told Marvel.com, “I remember seeing both of their films when I was younger and just being so mesmerized by the idea of being Spider-Man. For me, it was taking that childhood dream and putting it into my version. Kind of remembering how it felt as a kid to watch them do it, to remember how excited I was, and to put that into my Peter Parker.”
What Movie Roles Did Tom Holland Play Besides Spider-Man?
Lucas Bennett in The Impossible (2012)
Locke in Eddie Locke (2013)
Isaac in How I Live Now (2013)
Jack Fawcett in The Lost City of Z (2016)
Bradley Baker in The Edge Of Winter (2016)
Monster in A Monster Calls (2016)
Samuel Insull in The Current War (2017)
The Voice/Brother Diarmuid in Pilgrimage (2017)
Walter Beckett in Spies in Disguise (2019)
Arvin Russell in The Devil All The Time (2020)
Ian Lightfoot in Onward (2020)
Jip in Doolittle (2020)
Todd Hewitt in Chaos Walking (2021)
Cherry in Cherry (2021)
Nathan Drake in Uncharted (2022)
Since Holland has a theater background and played Billy Elliot/Michael Caffrey in Billy Elliot: The Musical at the Victoria Palace Theater, it makes sense that he would want to play Romeo on stage. However, despite his theater work, it’s possible to argue that fans don’t remember the other roles he has played besides Spider-Man. His other most memorable role was Nathan Drake in Uncharted, which again proves that he shines in the action genre.
Inside Leonardo DiCaprio’s Role In Romeo + Juliet
Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to star in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of Romeo + Juliet because it was cool, not the stuffy source material that people are used to. The actor was 19 years old at the time and his career was about to take off.
The actor told Entertainment Weekly in 1996:
“I wouldn’t want to do it if it [were done as usual], because that would be BS. If you’re excellent at every little verse, if you’re perfect, then it’s like a high school play or something.”
DiCaprio also told ScreenSlam at the time that he loved doing a chemistry read with Claire Danes because she looked him in the eye, which the others who auditioned didn’t do. He could tell that they would both be perfect for the roles.
Based on any interview that he gave about the part, it’s clear Leonardo DiCaprio will always be the best actor who has played Romeo, no matter how excellent Tom Holland is, because he gave the role his all. The response to his part was overwhelmingly positive, from teenage girls swooning to his co-stars praising his work.
