Leonardo DiCaprio has delivered plenty of standout performances over the years, but Catch Me If You Can is still one of the most memorable. A fast-paced film, based on a true story, it showcases DiCaprio’s range and also pairs him with director Steven Spielberg. With a strong cast and a story that sounds almost too wild to be true, the film still holds up more than two decades later. DiCaprio plays Frank Abagnale Jr., a teenager whose elaborate scams put him on the FBI’s radar and turned him into one of the most notorious con artists in U.S. history. Let’s take a closer look at the true story behind the movie.

Frank’s Early Life

Frank Abagnale was born in Bronxville, New York, in 1948; by all accounts, his childhood was pretty unexceptional. Things took a turn, however, when his parents divorced before he was a teen, a potential catalyst for what was to come. While other teenagers might have turned to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain, Frank was on a different path – a path that would make him one of the most wanted fraudsters in the United States.

Every Fraud Under the Sun

Frank first dipped his toe in the fraud water when he started writing bad checks. He discovered this was all too easy and forged bad checks worth millions, resulting in a manhunt that spanned multiple states.

You’d think at this point that he’d tuck in his tail and call it a day, but his notoriety encouraged him even more for some reason. Moving on from bad checks, he decided to pose as a Pan Am pilot, which he managed to do without ever having flown a plane or practiced in a flight simulator. This fake identity opened the door to travel the world, with the unsuspecting airline paying for his lifestyle.

Bored of the travel life, Frank decided to switch things up and pose as a pediatrician in Georgia under the alias Dr. Frank Williams. He even weaseled into Brigham Young University, where he posed as a sociology professor. In Louisiana, he infiltrated the attorney general’s office once he had passed the bar – potentially the first honest thing he’d done. Using public records, he borrowed other people’s credentials and took advantage of people’s trust and their lack of fact-checking.

The Ultimate Manhunt

FBI Agent Carl Hanratty started investigating Frank in the mid-1960s, and Frank’s world of lies and deceit soon became Carl’s obsession. He relentlessly pursued Frank, making him a key part of Abagnale’s story.

However, Frank was clever. He wasn’t just a sitting duck waiting for the authorities to catch up with him. He used several methods to avoid detection, from changing his work schedule to implementing psychological tactics he’d learned along the way. At one point, he even pretended to be an FBI agent, which convinced police outside his home that he was undercover. Buying him time, he was able to evade arrest and jail time once again.

However, as fun as this was for Frank and frustrating as it was for the FBI, it did all come to a head. Frank was ultimately arrested in France at the astonishingly young age of 21. The French police worked with the United States, arresting him after they recognized him on a wanted poster. He was extradited to the U.S. and sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.

Frank’s illustrious career of deceit earned him $2.5 million in fraudulent checks. When the FBI finally apprehended him, he wrote over 17,000 bad checks in 26 countries.

While you might think this is the end of the story, it’s not. Surprisingly, in the late 1960s, the FBI approached Frank in prison, offering him a furlough in exchange for his release. Once out, he would help the FBI by teaching them the tricks of the trade, ultimately helping them catch others in the fraud world.

Media Presence and Public Perception

As you can imagine, this sensational story of a young con artist who duped everyone from banks to airlines, became the perfect media fodder for journalists and the public. Abagnale’s story was picked up everywhere, quickly making him a household name. He even was invited to appear on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

As with all interesting individuals who have more life stories than they know what to do with, Frank wrote a memoir called Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake, which he co-authored with Stan Redding. Spielberg picked this up, and the result was a movie starring Leo.

Catch Me If You Can: The Movie

Speaking of the movie, it was released in 2002. Leonardo DiCaprio was naturally the top pick for Frank Abagnale, and he did an outstanding job bringing the young con man’s ability to charm and deceive to the big screen. Tom Hanks played Carl Hanratty.

Christopher Walken played Frank Abagnale Sr., which sheds light on Frank Jr.’s relationship with his parents and what might have caused his choices. Jennifer Garner played Cheryl Ann, a one-time fling of Franks who represented his various real-life trysts.

A Cautionary Tale

From trying to pass off as a Pan Am airline pilot to faking his way into being a lawyer, a flight attendant, a doctor, and even a university professor, it’s safe to say that Frank’s led a pretty fascinating life. Ultimately, Frank Abagnale’s story could be the greatest hoax ever pulled off by a teenager while at the same time being a cautionary tale for anybody who’s thinking of veering off the narrow path in favor in pursuit of a more “exciting” life.

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