Felicity Jones Reveals the Actor Who Set Her Standard

Felicity Jones has quietly built a reputation as one of Britain’s most versatile performers. While she’s had her fair share of leading roles, from the emotional heart of acclaimed dramas like The Theory of Everything and The Brutalist to fronting what many reckon is the best Star Wars instalment, she’s never been one to chase the limelight. Even her stint on Doctor Who—in an episode featuring a giant wasp, no less—showed her knack for picking projects that are a bit left of centre.

Starting out young, Jones first popped up on telly at just 13, before landing a key part in the children’s series The Worst Witch. She played the title character, who was more hopeless than wicked, and it set the tone for a career built on depth rather than flash.

Finding Inspiration Across the Globe

As she was carving out her path, Jones looked beyond the UK for inspiration. In a chat with Backstage, she was asked which performances she thought every actor should study. Her answer was straight to the point:

“It may sound like an obvious answer, but the person I always come back to for such a collision of emotion and technique is Leonardo DiCaprio,”

she said.

“I grew up on a very strong diet of Leonardo DiCaprio, from Romeo + Juliet to Titanic. The emotion he brings, but also the skill, is pretty much one of a kind. I use him as a bit of a benchmark. He brings such physicality.”

DiCaprio, like Jones, got his start early, appearing on TV as a teenager. But it was the late ‘90s that really put him on the map. Baz Luhrmann’s take on Shakespeare’s classic love story showed he could lead a film, and Titanic turned him into a household name. Back then, his roles leaned into his youth and vulnerability—he played the romantic, sometimes naïve, and always compelling lead.

From Teen Idol to Complex Characters

By the time Jones made her comments in 2021, DiCaprio had racked up a string of challenging roles. Films like The Wolf of Wall Street, The Aviator, and The Revenant had earned him plenty of Oscar nods. These parts demanded more from him than his earlier work, pushing him into new territory as an actor. Since then, he’s kept mixing things up, taking on everything from sharp satire in Don’t Look Up to more layered dramas.

Jones’s admiration for DiCaprio’s early performances might be tinged with nostalgia, but there’s no denying the impact of his work in films like Titanic. His portrayal of Jack Dawson remains a standout, even if he’s famously never bothered to watch the film himself. For Jones, it’s that blend of raw emotion and technical skill that sets the bar.