Leonardo DiCaprio paid tribute to his mother, Irmelin Indenbirken, as he won the Best Actor Award at the National Board of Review Gala in New York City on Tuesday.
The American actor, 51, who won the award for his starring role in One Battle After Another, expressed his gratitude to his mother, 82, for always supporting ‘the dream’ while accepting his award on stage.
‘I waited 25 years … to make a film like this. That is so topical. So pertinent. About extremism, about divisiveness. That says something about the world we live in. It was an absolute honour and a joyous experience,’ he said, via Deadline.
Thanking his mother for being his biggest support, he continued: ‘She believed in me long before there was absolutely any reason to.
‘Driving me to auditions every single day after school. Supporting the dream that started in the theatres… This moment only exists because of you.’
Elsewhere during the ceremony, Paul Thomas Anderson was awarded the top honour of Best Film for the drama, while he was also named Best Director.
Leonardo DiCaprio paid tribute to his mother, Irmelin Indenbirken, as he won the Best Actor Award at the National Board of Review Gala in New York City on Tuesday (both pictured at the Golden Globes this month)
The American actor, 51, who won the award for his starring role in One Battle After Another, expressed his gratitude to his mother, 82, for always supporting ‘the dream’ while accepting his award on stage
‘Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the shining lights of contemporary cinema. He has crafted a bold, funny, and thrilling movie that is somehow one of the most significant films about the world we live in and also a playful, tender story of a father and daughter connecting through some of the wildest events you can imagine. The NBR is honoured to celebrate this absolutely remarkable film,’ NBR President Annie Schulhof shared in a statement.
Meanwhile, Leonardo’s co-star Benicio del Toro took home the Best Supporting Actor award for his role as Sergio St. Carlos in the film.
The drama/action thriller follows Bob Ferguson (Leonardo), who is a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa.
However, when his evil nemesis resurfaces and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as both father and daughter battle the consequences of their pasts.
Leonardo’s mother, Irmelin, raised him as a single parent in Los Angeles, and credits the success of his acting career with the enduring love she gave him during his childhood.
He told Access Hollywood in 2014 that her support after he’d announced, at the age of 12, that he wanted to act was unwavering. He said: ‘She’s the only reason I’m able to do what I do.’
Irmelin was also fiercely protective of her son in the early years of his fame, often putting herself between him and camera-wielding paparazzi.
After her own traumatic early years – she was born in Germany in an air raid shelter in 1943 as the Second World War raged across Europe, Irmelin was determined that her son would have a better upbringing.
‘I waited 25 years … to make a film like this. That is so topical. So pertinent. About extremism, about divisiveness. That says something about the world we live in. It was an absolute honour and a joyous experience,’ he said, via Deadline
Thanking his mother for being his biggest support, he continued: ‘She believed in me long before there was absolutely any reason to,’
He added: ‘Driving me to auditions every single day after school. Supporting the dream that started in the theatres… This moment only exists because of you’ (Leonardo pictured with his mother and her partner David Ward at the gala)
Elsewhere during the ceremony, Paul Thomas Anderson (seen) was awarded the top honour of Best Film for the drama, while he was also named Best Director
Meanwhile, Leonardo’s co-star Benicio del Toro (left) took home the Best Supporting Actor award for his role as Sergio St. Carlos in the film
In 1998, her mother, Helene Indenbirken, told the German magazine Hellweger Anzeiger, that being born in the tiny village of Oer-Erkenschwick, just north of Dortmund, saw the family endure ‘hard times’, circumstances that would eventually see them flee to the US, but not until the war had been over for a decade.
Irmelin was raised as a teenager in a German community in New York. Her parents would eventually return to their roots three decades later in 1985.
After training to be a legal secretary, Leonardo’s mother met his father, George, who sold comic books, in her twenties.
The couple reportedly picked their future son’s name while on holiday in Florence, after browsing the city’s famous masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci.
George and Irmelin would separate before little Leo turned one but, the star has said, they co-parented amicably – with George living next door for a period – although the bond he shares with his mother is clearly remarkably strong.
Although Leonardo’s childhood in a ‘rough’ East Los Angeles suburb was easier than his mother’s wartime experiences, it wasn’t gilded by any means.
The drama/action thriller follows Bob Ferguson (Leonardo), who is a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa
He said in 1998: ‘It was definitely a rough neighbourhood, but it was cool. I got to see a lot of stuff. It’s good to grow up like that, I think. It’s good to see that side at a young age.’
Irmelin has her son to thank for her success in her romantic life. She’s been dating handsome Scot David Ward, who’s thought to be around 72, since her actor son set them up on a blind date nearly 11 years ago.
David now travels with Irmelin in luxury around the globe. The couple party with A-listers, holiday with supermodels, travel in private jets and hang out on the set of Hollywood blockbusters as they support Leonardo’s career.
What’s more, David’s nickname is ‘The Dos Equis Man’, in reference to the famous Mexican beer brand’s adverts, which feature Jonathan Goldsmith, who’s described as living the dream as ‘the most interesting man in the world’.
