' What's Eating Gilbert Grape' actress who played giant mother goes to heaven, original author's son becomes star

See the essence of two major stars in their sons' performances

In What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Darren Cates plays Bonnie (listed as "Momma" in the credits rather than her character's name), a mother who hasn't left the house in seven years and spends all day on the couch. . He can barely walk with the help of a cane, and the neighborhood children watch him through the windows with amusement. The photo of Dahlen from his younger days on the refrigerator is of himself. But now that I think about it, I can say that she played a great mother in her first film role. Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio, two future superstars, played his son. In the play, Mama calls her older brother Gilbert "my knight" and her younger brother Ernie "my sunshine."

"What's Eating Gilbert Grape" (C) 1993 DORSET SQUARE FILM PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION KFT

The main character, Gilbert, played by Johnny, loses his father and at the age of 24 is responsible for supporting the family, always putting himself on the back burner. I have no ambitions to move out of my small town in Iowa. During this period, Johnny had many roles where he was devoted to others, such as in `` Benny & Joon '' (1993) and `` Arizona Hidden Figures '' (1993), and this role of Gilbert was the best. He acts like a knight for the sake of his family, showing a gentle embrace of those around him, including his younger brother Ernie. It's filled with Johnny's original charm.

This role earned Leonardo DiCaprio his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and it was a role that changed his career forever. 18-year-old Ernie is mentally retarded, and he does outrageous things every day, such as climbing the tower of the town's tallest water tank, and is making fun of Gilbert and his family. For the role of Ernie, Leo spent several days in a facility where teens with the same disorder lived, talking to them and closely observing their behavior. Ernie doesn't like water, so Leo didn't wash for days during filming. In the role of Ernie, who can be played to excess, Leo shows miraculously delicate expressions in several scenes and succeeds in moving the hearts of the viewers. With this film and the same year's `` A Boy's Life, '' in which he co-starred with Robert De Niro, it can be said that Leo's path to becoming an acting star was set in stone.

"What's Eating Gilbert Grape" (C) 1993 DORSET SQUARE FILM PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION KFT

After filming, Johnny reportedly apologized to Darren Cates. Although it was an acting performance, the role of Gilbert, who sometimes behaved harshly toward his mother, seemed to have a slight sense of guilt. When Darren Cates passed away in 2017, Leo said, ``To me, she was the best mom on screen.''

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