Leonardo DiCaprio is morphing into Kendall Roy before our very eyes

This week we said happy birthday to Leonardo DiCaprio, and as he turned 49, he also welcomed another new era: his seeming rebirth as long-time fan favourite Succession character, Kendall Roy!

In case you haven't noticed, the Killers of the Flower Moon star has been exhibiting some marked similarities to a certain Eldest Boy recently, but none was more glaring than the way he celebrated his birthday, at a private party hosted in Beverly Hills.

There was a star-studded guest list, of course, with appearances from Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Zoë Kravitz, Channing Tatum and Tobey Maguire — a roster that recalls a Succession scene featuring Kendall Roy and his publicist, Comfry, who tells him that "80 per cent" of his A-list were planning to attend to his 40th birthday bash.

But the similarities don't stop there, because when DiCaprio took to the stage of his party, in front of a crowd that included Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg, he rapped to his guests.

It was, sadly, not a personalised rap dedicated to his father (or the ice caps) but a rather scattered rendition of DWYCK by Gang Starr, featuring Nice & Smooth.

Then, according to People, DiCaprio was held aloft by his guests and "carried around the room" by partygoers — a Kendall Roy wet dream. And lest we forget: KLR did initially plan to strap himself to a crucifix and sing Billy Joel at his party.

As well as the Eldest Boy-style birthday bash, DiCaprio's dedication to baseball caps and sunglasses has become greater than ever in recent months — a well-known signature look of Mr Roy, who wears his quiet luxury Loro Piana cashmere caps and Jacques Marie Mage sunglasses like a suit of armour.

The pair also share a well-known love of headphones — Roy for silencing his demons, and DiCaprio for reasons we cannot elaborate on.

Then there's his new love interest, the younger, Italian model Vittoria Ceretti, who we could call DiCaprio's Naomi Pierce — a shoulder to cry on when he needs to let out some Kendall Roy-level emotions. Though we suspect this will be less daddy issues-focused and more climate change or Heart of the Ocean related.

And let's not forget that DiCaprio is a well-known activist, like our boy Kendall Roy, who infamously ended all oppression of women when he shouted "F**k the patriarchy!" outside a charity gala.

Plus, not to blur the line between Jeremy Strong and Kendall Roy (though Jeremy Strong has been doing this for years), but DiCaprio is known to dabble in method acting, and there's an incredibly Kendall Roy moment in Django Unchained where Leo smashes a glass and continues with the scene while bleeding, somewhat unnecessarily. It's giving Kendall.

So maybe it all sounds a bit corkboard and red string, but to the trained eye, the connections are clear as day. I, for one, welcome Leonardo DiCapriRoy's next move: hopefully it involves Tuscany and some kind of coup.