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Leonardo DiCaprio to play man with 24 personalities

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February 28, 2015

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No stranger to challenging roles, Leonardo DiCaprio has signed on to play Billy Milligan who was the first person ever to successfully use Dissociative Identity Disorder as defense in court. It was reported by The Hollywood Reporter on Feb. 27 that DiCaprio has signed on not only to play Milligan but to help produce the film as well. The movie, aptly titled “The Crowded Room” will depict the court trial of Billy Milligan as well as other parts of his life, in the late 1970s Milligan was charged with robbery as well as the rapes of three women on the Ohio State University campus. Milligan was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder- often called by it's previous and outdated name: Multiple Personality Disorder- and plead insanity, his lawyers contending that two of Milligan's other personalities committed the crimes without Milligan's consent or knowledge.

In 1994 the fourth edition of the DSM changed the name from Multiple Personality Disorder to Dissociative Identity Disorder to emphasize the victim's changes of consciousness and identity rather than their personality. Milligan suffered from severe Dissociative Identity Disorder and had a recorded twenty-four separate personalities, among them were Arthur, a polite Englishman; Tommy, a con artist; Allen, a manipulator; Ragen Vadascovinich, a Yugoslavian communist; and Adalana, a 19-year old lesbian. Milligan alleged that Ragen committed the robbery and Adalana committed the rapes.

A role that is so much more than one character already has film lovers anticipating DiCaprio's performance. DiCaprio has expressed a desire to play Milligan since as far back as 1997. On top of Dissociative Identity Disorder Milligan suffered from childhood abuse, trauma and acute Schizophrenia. During Milligan's trial it was revealed that Milligan's first three personalities, Christine, Shawn and another known only as no-name boy, manifested before he was 5-years old.