I tell you this because a thought dawned on me as I was recently reading one of the three magazines that I subscribe to (New York magazine in this case. The other two are Rolling Stone and Maxim). I was reading an article about the new Leonardo DiCaprio/Martin Scorsese movie The Wolf of Wall Street and it dawned on me that two of my favorite celebrities, DiCaprio and Kobe Bryant, have had strikingly similar careers.
DiCaprio is arguably the best actor of his generation. He took the torch from Tom Hanks/Tom Cruise in the mid to late 90s and has been a critically acclaimed box office draw ever since. There have been other elite actors in that time frame (notably Sean Penn, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney), but no one has clearly risen above Leo. You could make the case that some have had better careers, but there is no consensus.
Kobe Bryant is the 2nd best shooting guard in NBA history and I don't think there's much debate about that. Bryant idolized Michael Jordan growing up and was eager to follow in his footsteps. It didn't happen over night, but Kobe has been the best NBA player in the post-Jordan era. Sure there were other great players (Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, and Jason Kidd), but Bryant's accolades are far superior to most others. It should be noted, however, that LeBron James has usurped Kobe's title as the greatest basketball player on the planet.
The two megastars (they have world wide recognition) are both in their mid to late 30s (Leo is 38, Kobe is 35), but we knew them as teens. DiCaprio was a child actor (appeared in Growing Pains) who got his big break on the silverscreen at age 19 in 1993's What's Eating Gilbert Grape. He earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a teenager with a mental disease. He then burst onto the scene as the male lead in James Cameron's 1997 epic Titanic. Kobe was not the first highschool basketball player to jump straight to the NBA, but he was one the most well known and covered at the time of his ascent. Case in point, we all know that Kobe took Brandy to his prom. Less than a year later Kobe was a high flying rookie who won the 1997 Slam Dunk contest.
Leo's individual career is, admittedly, not as impressive as his reputation would suggest. He has not yet won Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar, the ultimate honor in acting. In fact, he's only been nominated for it twice (The Aviator in 2004 and Blood Diamond 2006). I would argue that he should have at least garnered a nomination for The Departed (2006), but the studio (Warner Bros.) instead pushed for his role in Blood Diamond to be rewarded. He also should have received Best Supporting Actor nominations for his work in Gangs of New York (2002) and Django Unchained (2012). I do think that he'll eventually win the Best Actor Oscar as almost a career achievement sort of way. Similar to how Kate Winslet won Best Actrees in 2009 for her role in The Reader, which was probably her 4th or 5th best performance all time.
Similar to how Leo has been snubbed by the Academy, Kobe was snubbed for years when it came to the MVP award. He's finished in the Top 5 ten times, but only once (2008) did he come away as the winner. For example, Steve Nash won in 2006 by averaging nearly 19 points and more than 10 assists per game. Kobe led the league in scoring (35.4), hauled in more than 5 boards a game, and dished out 4.5 assists to the likes of Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and Chris Mihm.
While Kobe only has one MVP award, he does have five championships. The acting equivalent would be being cast in a film that wins Best Picture at the Academy Awards. DiCaprio has been a part of two Best Picture wins (Titanic, The Departed) and has "been to the finals" (been in a movie that was nominated for the grand prize) four other times (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, Inception, Django Unchained).
What this tells us is that Leo and Kobe are great individual talents that have been a part of some really good teams. In fact, it's clear to see that they're both at their best when they're surrounded by other elite players/actors. Kobe was at his best playing with Shaq and has won two titles with Pau Gasol as the Robin to his Batman. DiCaprio has thrived alongside Kate Winslet (Titanic), Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York), Tom Hanks (Catch Me If You Can), Matt Damon/Jack Nicholson (The Departed), and Jaime Foxx/Christolph Walz (Django Unchained).
Not only have they had great teammates, they've also had great coaches. For Kobe it was Phil Jackson. He of the 11 championship rings and unquestionable pedigree. For Leo it was (and continues to be) Martin Scorsese. The two have now teamed up for five successful films (Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street).
It's no secret that DiCaprio and Bryant are among the best of all time in their respective fields. It's just striking how similar their career paths have been. Bryant is well ahead in terms of cementing his legacy, but DiCaprio has 30-40 more years to add to his acting career if he so chooses. We don't see such sustained success in sports or acting anymore these days. The two elite performers, who both have LA ties (DiCaprio was borned/raised there, Kobe plays there) are truly titans of their industries.
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