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Published 16:21 IST, August 20th 2020

This is how Leonardo DiCaprio prepared for his role in 'The Basketball Diaries'

Leonardo DiCaprio essayed Jim Caroll in the movie The Basketball Diaries. Here is how the stellar actor prepared for such a tough character to portray onscreen.

Reported by: Aishwarya Rai
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Even though several actors now truly believe in the concept of method acting, only a few actually ace the art. And, Titanic's hero, Leonardi DiCaprio is certainly one of them. The academy award-winning actor's vehement passion for his craft is quite evident in his remarkable body of work. For each and every role, he prepares thoroughly. This is the reason why it looks effortless on celluloid.

In 1995 released Leonardo DiCaprio's The Basketball Diaries which is based on the Jim Carroll's autobiographical novel. It dictates the story of his teenage days in which he did substance abuse. In order to understand the psyche of a drug-addict, Leo actually met a drug consultant and learnt how to talk like an addict.

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This Is How Leonardo DiCaprio Prepared For His Role In The Basketball Diaries

Leonardo DiCaprio essayed the role of Jim Carroll in his biopic film titled The Basketball Diaries. A major portion of the drama flick focussed on Jim's transition from a highly promising basketball player to a drug addict. In order to get into the skin of his character and look his part appropriately on the silver-screen, the makers of the movie actually hired a drug consultant. DiCaprio used to talk to him before delivering his scenes, as per IMDb trivia. 

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Another riveting fact which Leonardo DiCaprio discovered about drug-addicts is that they talk with very low pitched voices.  And, if they happen to 'raise their voice' it almost sounds like a frog is stuck in their throat. Basically one sounds quite similar to a frog's voice, according to the trivia available on IMDb in relation to The Basketball Diaries, directed by Scott Kalvert.

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Shedding more light on the same, as per Leonardo DiCaprio, it is not compulsory for a person to sound exhausted or like they are drunk in order play an addict on-screen instead, the main focus should be that one sounds very relaxed. This is because post the consumption of the drug, the addict feels his/her body to be jelly-like. And, one feels that everything is slow and at ease. After looking at this information, it is evident that Leonardo DiCaprio indeed prepped for his role well and did complete research to get even the smallest things right. 

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As per the box-office figures of The Basketball Diaries, the popular film did manage to live up its hype and transformed into a commercial success. It earned a whopping 24 lakhs USD. Apart from Leonardo DiCaprio, actors like Ernie Hudson, James Madio, and Bruno Kirby played pivotal roles in The Basketball Diaries.

16:21 IST, August 20th 2020