...he IS one cute, huggable kid in those films, isn't he? I think he did look a lot younger than his age naturally. It happens. I'm sure you can remember at least one kid in High School who developed a lot later than everyone else and still looked like a Junior High student even in grade 11 or 12. But what a brilliant young actor, huh? I remember hearing some comentary about "Gilbert Grape"; I guess when some big shot viewed the film for the first time, he made the comment,"That retarted boy sure can act, can't he?". I guess his jaw hit the floor when he found out that DeCaprio wasn't really mentally retarded. Talk about a gifted actor. And here's another tidbit of knowledge..

Leonardo got to be very close to the woman who played his obese mother in "Gilbert Grape". He would run up and give her hugs whenever they weren't filming. She just loved him, too. He and Johnny Depp became just as close as real brothers, too. I think I got all this information from the commentary on the DVD, so you might want to check that out. I know you are going to love these two movies.