Leonardo DiCaprio‘s career was off to a flying start thanks to the success of ‘Titanic.’ But in the 2000s, he proved his mettle as one of the best actors of our generation. One such transformative performance was DiCaprio playing Frank Abagnale Jr. in the 2002 crime drama ‘Catch Me If You Can’ directed by Steven Spielberg.
‘Catch Me If You Can’ stars DiCaprio as the notorious con artist who catches the attention of FBI agent Carl Hanratty. Outsmarted at every turn, Hanratty forms a vendetta against Abagnale Jr. The film was based on a real story—or at least some version of reality.
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The True(ish) Story Behind Leonardo DiCaprio’s ‘Catch Me If You Can’
Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer ‘Catch Me If You Can’ is based on Frank Abagnale Jr.’s autobiography of the same title. It is an elaborate archive of his alleged grifts. Published in 1989, Steven Spielberg’s company DreamWorks was quick to buy the rights. According to the autobiography, Abignale successfully posed as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, a teacher, and an attorney.
Throughout his career as a criminal, he defrauded the United States government of US$2.5 million by writing bad checks. However, the book itself is a lie. A cross-checking of facts revealed Abagnale’s claims were partly fictional. There was no Carl Hanratty. There were numerous agents following his trail over the years. According to a New York Post article, he never pretended to be a professor or a physician.
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What’s Frank Abagnale Jr. Doing Now?
Frank Abagnale Jr. decided to help the authorities after years of fooling them. In 1976, he founded Abagnale & Associates after being released from prison. His consultancy aids the government in matters of financial fraud. He also became an FBI lecturer and consultant. He claims to work pro-bono with the FBI. However, his consultancy has made millions thanks to their government contracts.
Frank Abagnale and his wife, Kelly Anne Welbes Abagnale, live on Daniel Island, an island community in Charleston, South Carolina. They have three sons, Scott, Chris, and Sean. After years of being on the run, Frank has turned his life around and lives as a family man. Or is it all part of an elaborate con, his greatest one yet?
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