Leonardo DiCaprio Turns 52: His Growing Pains Year as Luke Brower

Before Titanic, before the Oscar, before he was the most famous movie star on the planet, Leonardo DiCaprio was the new kid at the Seavers' house. DiCaprio was born in Los Angeles on November 11, 1974, which means he turns 52 today. So we're skipping the red carpets and heading straight to the place every TV family fan remembers him from: the seventh and final season of Growing Pains, where he played Luke Brower.

Who was Luke Brower on Growing Pains?

Luke arrived in the fall of 1991 as a homeless teenager. Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron), by then teaching at the local high school, discovers that his best student has nowhere to live, and he talks Jason (Alan Thicke) and Maggie (Joanna Kerns) into letting the boy stay. Luke ends up living with the family through the rest of Season 7, becoming a sort of bonus sibling for Carol (Tracey Gold), Ben (Jeremy Miller) and Chrissy (Ashley Johnson).

The casting had a clear goal. According to DiCaprio biographer Douglas Wight, the producers hoped the newcomer would win over teenage viewers the way Cameron had in the show's early years. It didn't save the ratings, and Season 7 turned out to be the last. But the role did earn DiCaprio a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series, and it put him in front of a weekly network audience just before Hollywood came calling.

Leonardo DiCaprio's Growing Pains episodes to watch

Luke isn't the center of every Season 7 story, but these are the episodes where he drives the plot, with original air dates:

• Stop, Luke, and Listen (September 25, 1991): the debut. Mike learns that Luke, his best student, is homeless and offers to help.
• In Vino Veritas (September 28, 1991): Mike persuades Jason and Maggie to take Luke in temporarily, and just as he moves in, Jason's wine collection goes missing. Awkward timing, kid.
• The Young and the Homeless (October 12, 1991): Luke runs away from the Seavers' right as Mike is about to film his soap-opera scenes.
• Jason Sings the Blues (October 19, 1991): Jason takes a reluctant Luke to the doctor, where he gets bad news. This is also the episode where DiCaprio's photos join the opening title sequence.
• There Must Be a Pony (November 2, 1991): Ben has to play "Big Brother" on Luke's first day of high school, and soon realizes Luke will be just fine.
• Bad Day Cafe (November 23, 1991): Luke's father turns up wanting him back.
• Honest Abe: one of Luke's homeless friends steals a Seaver family memento.
• Vicious Cycle (February 1, 1992): Maggie and Jason hold Mike responsible for Luke's curfew problems.
• Menage a Luke (February 8, 1992): Ben and Luke end up in a love triangle with a classmate. Yes, the episode title is a pun on his name.
• Don't Go Changin' (February 29, 1992): Mike worries that his old friend Eddie is a bad influence on Luke.
• The Truck Stops Here (March 21, 1992): Luke's father returns and wants Luke to join him on the road as a trucker. Fun bonus: this one was directed by Joanna Kerns herself.

If you only have time for three, start with "Stop, Luke, and Listen" for the setup, "Bad Day Cafe" for the family drama, and "The Truck Stops Here" for how his dad's storyline comes back around.

Why Luke left before the Growing Pains finale

Fans who binge Season 7 often notice that Luke isn't around by the end. That wasn't a creative fight. DiCaprio was written out late in the season so he could start work on This Boy's Life (1993), his first major film role, playing author Tobias Wolff opposite Robert De Niro. The series wrapped with the two-part "The Last Picture Show" on April 25, 1992, which you can find on our Season 7 page.

What did his TV family think of him? Joanna Kerns has remembered him as "especially intelligent and disarming for his age," and also as a bit of a mischief-maker on set. Years later, the bond was still there: DiCaprio was among the Growing Pains cast who came together for Alan Thicke's funeral after the actor died in December 2016.

From Luke Brower to Best Actor

Growing Pains wasn't DiCaprio's first TV family, either. Before Luke, he played troubled teen Garry Buckman in the 1990 TV version of Parenthood. After the Seavers, things moved fast: an Oscar nomination for What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), worldwide fame with Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Titanic (1997), and later The Departed, Inception and The Wolf of Wall Street. He finally won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Revenant (2015), and he picked up another Best Actor nomination at the 2026 Oscars for One Battle After Another.

Not bad for the kid who was accused of swiping Jason Seaver's wine.

Keep the Growing Pains rewatch going

Want to know what happened to the rest of the Seavers? Our Growing Pains cast: where are they now guide catches up with Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller, Ashley Johnson and the rest of the family. You can also start from the beginning on the Growing Pains show page, with every season from Season 1 through Season 7. And if this put you in a birthday mood, check out our recent TV family birthdays roundup or Henry Winkler's 81st birthday post.

Happy 52nd, Leo. The Seavers' guest room will always be yours.