3. Leo DiCaprio
Forget Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Junior; Leonardo DiCaprio is the closest thing Hollywood has at the minute to a bona-fide superstar. His presence on screen grows with every performance, and though the Academy seem intent on snubbing him regardless of what he offers, there is no doubt that his ability, and the quality of his performances are both on upward trajectories. In The Great Gatsby, DiCaprio takes full advantage of his director's attempt to mythologise that screen presence, even as he appears on screen. His first fleeting appearance is framed in a beautifully classical manner, channelling something of that mythical Golden Age of acting stars (which incidentally wholly suits the source) and announcing him as the single most important feature of Luhrmann's grand artistic manifesto. He is golden, and the trajectory of his character, from mythologised demi-God, through vulnerable lover to an embodied broken dream is irresistible, and easily as intoxicating as the swirling fever dreams of the parties his Gatsby throws.