Inside Hollywood legend Leonardo DiCaprio’s rarely spoken about hidden health battle

Leonardo DiCaprio has become one one of the biggest Hollywood stars in history (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

He first shot to fame in the early 1990s when he received an Oscar nomination at the age of 19 for his breakout role in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.

And Leonardo DiCaprio has only gone from strength to strength since then, cementing his place in the Hollywood Hall of fame.

His films have reportedly grossed over £5.5billion across the globe with the likes of Titanic, The Wolf of Wall Street, Great Gatsby, and Inception.

Despite his impressive success, it took the star until 2016 before he finally won Best Actor his first Oscar for his portrayal in The Revenant.

But it hasn’t always been plain sailing for the golden boy. As the award-winning actor celebrates his 50th birthday with his nearest and dearest, Daily Express has taken a deep dive inside his rarely discussed health battle.

The actor has secretly been battling with OCD for many years (Image: Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

What many fans of the movie buff may not know is that he has been secretly battling with an obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) for many years.

Leonardo first spoke about his condition while filming the Aviator back in 2004. In the throwback interview, DiCaprio revealed some of the struggles he faces as an actor battling with the mental health illness.

In an interview with The Mirror, the actor admitted that some of his obsessions included stepping on ever chewing gum stain when walking, which has caused major delays on set.

Back in 2005, he admitted: “My thing was not stepping on cracks, or not stepping on certain things. Sometimes it took me 10 minutes to get to the set because I’d be pacing back and forth, stepping on gum stains.”

He insisted he won't let the condition take over his life (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The star also revealed that he often fights the urge to walk through a doorway several times, adamant that he doesn’t want the condition to take over his life.

Although it is quite a common condition, OCD can significantly interfere with people’s lives, with obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours becoming hard to ignore.

The NHS explains that the obsession is an unwanted and unpleasant thought, image or urge that repeatedly enters your mind, causing feelings of anxiety, disgust or unease.

Whereas a compulsion is a repetitive behaviour or mental act that you feel the need to do temporarily relieve the unpleasant feelings brought on by the obsessive thought.

It still remains unclear what causes the condition, but medical professionals suspect that a number of different factors play a part.

The award-winning star used his illness during his role in The Aviator (Image: PA)

Speaking further about his condition, DiCaprio went on to say: “I’m able to say at some point, ‘Ok, you’re being ridiculous, stop stepping on every gum stain you see.

“You don’t need to do that. You don’t need to walk 20ft back and put your foot on that thing. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

However, for some of his roles – including his portrayal of Howard Hughes in The Aviator who was a successful film producer who also suffered from OCD – his personal experience with the condition actually helped.

Explaining how he got into the headspace of the character, Leonardo added: “I let it all go and never listened to the other voice.

“I remember my make-up artist and assistant walking me to the set going, ‘Oh God, we’re going to need 10 minutes to get him there because he has to walk back and step on that thing, touch that door and walk in and out again’.”