With a father who was a bank robber and a youth marked by struggles with drugs and alcoholism, this future Hollywood icon faced more challenges than most could imagine.
Yet today, he’s celebrated as one of Hollywood’s greatest actors, earning acclaim for multiple blockbuster roles.
Read on to discover the incredible story behind his rise.
His parents were just ”babies”
On June 27, 1975, a boy was born in Santa Monica, California, whose name we all know today. His parents, Wendy and Vincent, were just 18 and 20 years old when their future Hollywood star came into the world.
They weren’t married at the time, but tied the knot shortly after their son’s birth. However, Wendy and Vincent divorced when he was only three years old.
“They were just babies, doing whatever the heck they thought they should be doing,” the actor once said, reflecting on his parents.
In interviews, this film star has described his turbulent childhood as “tough and lonely,” with his father, Vincent, serving time for robbing a bank across the street —without a mask.
According to reports, his father was broke and believed he was dying of cancer. He entered a bank across from his home in Reseda, California, unmasked and unarmed, but with a note that read in part: “I have nothing to live for.”
The note also claimed he had a concealed weapon. He left with a bag of cash but was caught an hour later and spent two years in prison. The star himself wasn’t keen on discussing his father’s past when he grew up. A spokesperson bluntly said, “We’re not talking about this.”
Lived on groceries from neighbors
Beyond the bank robbery incident, the actor’s childhood was marked by poverty.
”As a kid, I was very poor. I mean, it’s all relative, but we would get groceries from neighbors,” the actor told The Guardian.
He has shared that, while he always had a roof over his head, he often slept on relatives’ couches and sometimes spent nights in shelters. His family relied on food stamps and government-provided health insurance.
”I realized at a young age that I was responsible for myself. My feelings of love or security or happiness – they were all in my own hands. I had plenty of difficult, emotional and scary times as a kid, but I don’t dwell on it,” said the star.
“Growing up the way I did, I had a very serious ambition to make some money, to have some security and comfort in my life”.
And he certainly went on to make that money — today, his net worth is estimated at $75 million. But it all started with just $100.
As a child, the actor dreamed of becoming a chef and even planned to take a home economics class in sixth grade. That’s when his mom stepped in with an irresistible offer: $100 to take a drama class instead. He said yes — and that single decision set him on the road to acting.
”A hundred bucks was a lot to me then, and to my mother. I never paid her back directly for that, but I’ve helped her out a little bit,” the actor told Tampa Bay Times in 2000.
Dropped out of high school
By his freshman year of high school, the constant moves and instability had taken their toll, and he dropped out. Instead of returning to the classroom, he threw himself completely into acting, turning that one childhood drama class into the launchpad for a Hollywood career.
In 1992, the young actor landed a role on Great Scott, a short-lived TV sitcom. The following year, he made his film debut in the child-abuse drama This Boy’s Life, where his haunted, intense look first appeared on the big screen. He didn’t make a huge splash yet— but he did make a lifelong connection with a certain co-star named Leonardo DiCaprio. The pair would become close friends
After a series of small roles and a few shelved projects, he got his first real break with a key part in Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm. He played Paul Hood, a troubled son in a fractured family, and it was here that audiences first saw the actor’s signature style: gawky, slightly anxious, curiously observant, and oddly endearing.
That same look and presence carried him through a standout, critically acclaimed performance in Pleasantville. Soon after, he earned more recognition in the Oscar-nominated The Cider House Rules, cementing his status as a rising Hollywood talent and setting the stage for the next steps in his career.
Like many child stars who rise to fame early, the actor struggled with drugs and alcohol. However, he managed to quit relatively young and has stayed clean ever since.
”I stopped consuming any mind-altering substances when I was 19 years old. And I’ve been abstinent since then,” he shared in 2013.
He doesn’t drink alcohol either.
”Not at all. And I’m a vegan. Maybe I eat a little too much sugar and wheat, but I’m trying constantly to refine.”
The role that catapulted him into legend
Life took a dramatic turn for this actor in 2002 when he stepped into the superhero spotlight as Spider-Man, earning a cool $4 million for the role. In fact, he became a legend with this role.