The actor has universally been acknowledged as giving the performance of a lifetime in The Departed, but while that film has been nominated for a slew of awards, he's gotten an Oscar nomination for Blood Diamond -- where he plays a decidedly less nuanced character.

Too strong to be ignored, the politically-minded blockbuster got a Best Actor nomination. Anyway, Leo was reliably solid -- and well into the role, as can be heard in this exclusive interview video.

"When a Hollywood star sports a foreign accent for one of his characters, viewers are tempted to say, Stop trying to hide; we know it's you. But Leonardo DiCaprio is such a resourceful actor, and such a magnetic movie presence, that he can persuasively slip into the character of Danny Archer, a diamond smuggler from Zimbabwe who's on the trail of a rock the size of Kilimanjaro." Read Richard Corliss and Richard Schickel's complete review at Time

Also see: Video spotlight: The Departed