Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays an ex-mercenary who turns to smuggling guns and diamonds in the movie Blood Diamond, has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

DiCaprio was nominated in the category of “Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama.” DiCaprio is in a rare position of facing himself in the category as he received the same nomination in The Departed. Other nominees are:

* Peter O’Toole, Venus;
* Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness; and
* Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

Blood Diamond, the African adventure movie that is set during the civil war in Sierra Leone and involves the illicit diamond trade, did not receive any other nominations.

The Golden Globes awards are nominated by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association,  a group of Los Angeles-based journalists working for overseas publications.

JCK