Leonardo DiCaprio’s face has got people talking—but perhaps not for the reasons you’d expect.
The Hollywood star first achieved international fame with roles in Romeo & Juliet (1996) and as Titanic heartthrob Jack in 1997, going on to become one of the world’s highest-paid actors and the recipient of many prestigious awards.
So, given how instantly recognisable the Oscar winner is, it’s no surprise he likes to conceal his identity sometimes to avoid attracting crowds.
However, fans are starting to notice a trend, leading to a wild conspiracy theory that the person we’ve been seeing at some huge A-list events… might not have been Leo at all.
In June, Leo, 50, joined Kim Kardashian, Orlando Bloom, and Sydney Sweeney in Venice for the wedding of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez.
Naturally, the whole thing was a lavish, very public affair, but it seems Leo had hopes of keeping a low profile, as he was photographed covering his face.
The Revenant star pulled a black baseball cap so far down that his face was not visible at all while he roamed the Italian streets, covering his mouth with his hand.
Dressed in casual attire of a white shirt and navy jacket, if you didn’t know it was Leo, well, you probably wouldn’t have known it was Leo, prompting questions among social media users about whether he sent a body double out in his place.
Fuelling the theories, Instagram user @vickymego commented under snaps from the getaway: ‘If Leonardo DiCaprio was gonna spend the whole event hiding under a cap, then what was the point of even showing up?’
And after Vogue Magazine shared a video of Leo heading to the ceremony in his tux, also bowing his head to prevent his face from showing as he climbed into a waiting boat taxi, the rumours only intensified.
‘What plastic surgery has he had done?’, commented @isaidwhatisaid655.
@scarlettmaroon4 joked: ‘oops someone has gotten older and needs to hide it with a cap🤭’.
‘he is losing his hair that’s why’, @tehpengzz speculated on the reasons for the hat.
Several others declared that the man in the footage was ‘not him’, suggesting that ‘maybe it’s someone else’.
Plenty also flocked to his defence, declaring that Leo is simply ‘tired of the paparazzi’, having been in the limelight since a young age.
Although the cynical were out in force too, suggesting that the proud environmental activist felt ’embarrassed’ to be at the billionaire’s wedding and wanted to ‘hide his hypocrisy’.
This isn’t the first time he’s covered his face, though—far from it, in fact.
The Wolf of Wall Street lead has been pictured utilising various methods of disguise in the past, whether it be a cap or something else.
Dating back to 2004, Leo has shielded his face from photographers using a puffer jacket, a traditional Venetian mask in 2013, and an umbrella at the US Open in 2015.
He’s also frequently used sunglasses, hoodies, and his mobile phone to prevent the world from getting a glimpse of him.
As for what he’s said about his unsuccessful attempts at hiding in plain sight, Leo has admitted that losing his anonymity has been a downfall of his astronomical stardom.
Speaking to Esquire in 2016 for a profile piece, the Golden Globe winner shared: ‘I really didn’t understand what fame was, and I didn’t understand what being in a giant hit was, and I didn’t understand what a giant hit Titanic was compared to other giant hits.
‘There was no rule book. There was nobody to navigate me through the experience of being watched all the time, and nobody to tell me how to be normal when everybody is acting and looking at me differently.’
The Don’t Look Up star added: ‘Look, if you’re not careful about it, it can develop into a social anxiety. It’s like, what’s going to happen? What photographer is going to jump out where? What kind of thing am I being set up for? You try to talk yourself out of it, but you’re never used to it.’
But don’t get it twisted, as while he might not always want to be front-page news, Leo has repeatedly insisted he’s thankful for what he has.
He previously told 20/20’s Barbara Walters: ‘I’m not at all going to sit here and say that I’m not completely grateful.
‘I feel completely blessed for everything that has happened in my career.’
Leo, as famous for his dating life as he is for his movies, is currently in a relationship with girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti, to whom he was first linked in 2023.
While insights he offers into his romances, typically with younger women, are rare, he once said he wouldn’t rule out settling down.
‘That time will come when that time comes,’ declared the famous bachelor. ‘The truth is, you can’t predict marriage. You can’t plan it. It’s just going to happen when it happens.’
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