I realise that I do not change the course of history. I am an actor, I do a movie, that's the end of it. You have to realise we are just clowns for hire. After I had success it was great, at first, not to worry about money. It was on my mind when I was growing up.
Interpretation
Success is not about changing the world but being part of a performance.
In this quote, Leonardo DiCaprio reflects on his role as an actor and the ephemeral nature of fame and success. He acknowledges that while achieving success may alleviate financial worries, ultimately, his contributions to history are limited, and he sees himself as a performer who entertains rather than as someone who alters the course of events.
In practice
This quote could be used in a motivational speech about the nature of success.
Mozambique is having an economic resurgence but still four out of 10 people there have HIV or AIDS...There's astounding conditions but what I was left with...was the power of the human spirit there and the fact these people have been through so much and they were still dancing in the streets
The best thing about acting is that I get to lose myself in another character and actually get paid for it. As for myself, I'm not really sure who I am. I change every day.
My career should adapt to me. Fame is like a VIP pass wherever you want to go.
I lived in Hollywood and, ironically, I didn't know you could just go out and get an agent and go on auditions and try and become an actor, I thought it was like a Masonic thing, like a blood line you had to belong to – until I was 13. Then I realised what you had to do. It is the one thing I know I want to do for the rest of my life.
As a young boy, I was obsessed with endangered species and the extinct species that men killed off. Biology was the subject in school that I was incredibly passionate about.
Mother Earth is hurting. And she needs a generation of thoughtful, caring and active kids like all of you to protect her for the future.
My best advice: Fall in love with what you do for a living.
Luck is the residue of design.
Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.
No great achievement is possible without persistent work.
Opportunity ... It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity.
The winning of a pawn among good players of even strength often means the winning of the game.
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