Leonardo DiCaprio to play 24 personalities in The Crowded Room

Leonardo DiCaprio finally lands the role that he’d been after for nearly two decades.

If you’re like me and the vast majority of the internet, you’ve watched the desire for Leonardo DiCaprio to win an Academy Award steadily turn to desperation, then hilarity, and finally resulting in meme after meme. Could that long-deprived Oscar finally be within his reach in the years to come?

Word is out that the actor has secured a role he’s had his eye on for almost 20 years: Billy Milligan in The Crowded Room.

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The film will focus on Milligan, a man with multiple personality disorder, and the screenplay is currently being adapted from Daniel Keyes’ nonfiction book, “The Minds of Billy Milligan.”

According to the author, Milligan was a man who struggled with 24 different personalities; one day waking up in jail charged for the kidnapping and rape of three women– actions he argued were the doing of one of his many personalities. He was later acquitted of his crimes after he pleaded insanity, claiming that two of his personalities committed them without his knowledge.

At the time (the 1970s), the decision to acquit Milligan was the first ever of its kind.

Names and descriptions of the individual personalities can be found on author Keyes’ website:

"Twenty-four people live inside Billy Milligan.Philip, a petty criminal; Kevin, who dealt drugs and masterminded a drugstore robbery; April whose only ambition was to kill Billy’s stepfather; Adalana, the shy, lonely, affection-starved lesbian who “used” Billy’s body in the rapes that led to his arrest; David, the eight-year-old “keeper of pain”; Arthur, the Englishman; Ragen, the “keeper of Rage” who possessed incredible strength; Allen, the con man; Tommy, the escape-artist, and all of the others, including men, women, several children, both boys and girls, and the Teacher, the only one who can put them all together. Each of these “people” play a distinct role in this often shocking true story."

Sound like Oscar material to you? Yeah, I thought so.

All jokes aside though, I’ve been a huge admirer of Leo’s acting throughout the years, and I’m really excited to see him take on a role like this one. He’ll definitely tackle it with the maturity, sensitivity, and complexity that it deserves.

In addition to starring, DiCaprio will produce the film along with Jennifer Davisson and Alexandra Milchan.

A director hasn’t been singled out yet, though in the past there have been rumors of James Cameron being considered. Cameron and DiCaprio obviously worked together before, on the blockbuster Titanic. Perhaps the two of them will create that special blend of movie magic yet again.

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