Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 adaptation was a neon-soaked, hip-hop-infused fever dream that basically split critics right down the middle. Some people hated the flashy CGI, but almost everyone agreed on one thing. The cast of the movie The Great Gatsby was freakishly well-picked. Honestly, when you think of Jay Gatsby now, you don't just see a drawing on a book cover. You see Leonardo DiCaprio raising a martini glass while fireworks explode behind him.
It’s been over a decade since it hit theaters. Yet, the way these actors inhabited F. Scott Fitzgerald’s messy, tragic socialites still sets the gold standard for how we visualize the 1920s. It wasn't just about big names. It was about finding people who could balance the "old money" stiffness with the "new money" desperation that drives the whole plot.
Leonardo DiCaprio as the definitive Jay Gatsby
Leo was born for this. There’s a specific kind of "hopeful" energy required for Gatsby—a man who spent five years reinventing his entire identity just to impress a girl. DiCaprio captured that weird mix of extreme confidence and total insecurity. One second he's the wealthiest man in West Egg, and the next, he's a nervous wreck knocking over a clock because Daisy Buchanan is in the room.
Interestingly, this wasn't Leo's first time working with Baz Luhrmann. They did Romeo + Juliet back in 1996. That history helped. It allowed Leo to lean into the theatricality of the role without losing the character's soul. He understood that Gatsby is a performer. Everything from the "Old Sport" catchphrase to the pink suit was a costume, and DiCaprio played the man playing the role perfectly.
The chemistry with Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan’s Daisy is polarizing. That’s actually a good thing. In the book, Daisy is "gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor." She’s not exactly a hero. Mulligan played her with this airy, breathless quality that makes you realize why Gatsby fell for her, but also why she’s ultimately a "careless person."
She beat out some massive names for the part. We’re talking Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, and Michelle Williams. Luhrmann reportedly knew she was the one during a screen test where she and Leo interacted. She had this specific "voice full of money" that the script demanded. It wasn't about being likable; it was about being magnetic and fragile at the same time.
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Tobey Maguire and the eyes of Nick Carraway
Tobey Maguire had a tough job. Nick Carraway is the narrator, which means he’s often just standing in the corner watching people behave badly. It’s easy to become boring in that role. But Maguire used his natural "everyman" vibe to act as our tether to reality.
He’s the one who sees the rot underneath the gold. Since Maguire and DiCaprio are actually best friends in real life, their on-screen bond felt authentic. You believed that Nick would actually help this mysterious bootlegger throw a tea party for a married woman. He gave the cast of the movie The Great Gatsby its moral center, even if that center was a little bit warped by the end of the film.
The breakout performance: Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker
If you ask a hardcore fan of the movie who the real MVP was, they’ll probably say Elizabeth Debicki. She was relatively unknown at the time. Playing Jordan Baker, the cynical, professional golfer who "incurably avoids clever, shrewd men," Debicki was a revelation.
She’s nearly 6'3", and she used that height to look down on everyone—literally and figuratively. She captured the boredom of the 1920s elite better than anyone else in the film. While everyone else was screaming or crying, she was just leaning against a doorframe with a drink, looking unimpressed. It’s the kind of performance that holds up better with every rewatch.
Joel Edgerton’s terrifying Tom Buchanan
Tom Buchanan is a villain, but he shouldn't be a cartoon. Joel Edgerton made him terrifying because he made him real. He played Tom as a "hulking" alpha male who uses his wealth and physical size to bully anyone in his path. The tension in the Plaza Hotel scene—where Tom finally confronts Gatsby—is some of the best acting in the whole movie. Edgerton’s performance reminds us that in this world, "old money" always wins because it’s more ruthless.
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Why the supporting cast mattered so much
The world of West Egg would feel empty without the people in the margins. You had Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson, bringing this desperate, tragic hunger to the screen. Her performance was loud and messy, which provided a sharp contrast to Daisy’s cool, refined persona. Then there was Amitabh Bachchan, the legend of Indian cinema, making a cameo as Meyer Wolfsheim. It was a brief role, but his presence added a layer of international mystery to Gatsby’s "business" dealings.
Music was also basically a cast member. While Jay-Z didn't appear on screen, his influence on the tone was everywhere. Using modern music for a period piece was a huge risk, but it worked because it made the parties feel as wild to us as they would have felt to someone in 1922.
The legacy of the 2013 ensemble
Looking back, the cast of the movie The Great Gatsby succeeded because they didn't try to make a museum piece. They made a movie about people who are obsessed with status, love, and the past.
- Leonardo DiCaprio moved from "heartthrob" to "prestige actor" firmly with this role.
- Elizabeth Debicki became a household name and went on to play Princess Diana in The Crown.
- Carey Mulligan solidified her spot as one of the most versatile actresses of her generation.
There are other versions of this story. The 1974 version with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow is much more "proper" and quiet. But it lacks the frantic, desperate energy of the book's prose. Luhrmann’s cast captured the vibe of the Jazz Age, even if they changed some of the details.
Facts about the production you might have missed
A lot went into making this group of actors look like they belonged in 1922. The costumes were designed by Catherine Martin in collaboration with Miuccia Prada. They used actual archival pieces for inspiration. Brooks Brothers even supplied 1,200 suits for the production.
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The filming didn't even happen in New York. It was mostly shot in Sydney, Australia. They built those massive mansions and the "Valley of Ashes" on soundstages and backlots. It’s a testament to the actors that you never once feel like they’re standing in front of a green screen in the suburbs of Australia. They sold the illusion of Long Island perfectly.
Critical insights on the characters' motivations
One thing people often miss is how young these characters are supposed to be. In the book, Nick turns 30 during the climax of the story. Gatsby and Daisy are in their late 20s. The 2013 cast was slightly older than that, but they captured that "quarter-life crisis" energy. They played it like people who thought they had all the time in the world, only to realize that time was the one thing they couldn't buy.
Gatsby's obsession with the "green light" is really an obsession with a version of the past that never existed. DiCaprio plays that delusion with a heartbreaking sincerity. You want him to win, even though you know he’s a criminal and his dream is impossible. That’s the magic of the performance.
Practical ways to engage with the Gatsby legacy
If you're a fan of the performances in this film, there are a few ways to dive deeper into the world the actors helped create:
- Read the 1925 novel again: Now that you have these faces in your head, the prose hits differently. Notice how much of the dialogue in the film is taken verbatim from Fitzgerald.
- Watch the 1974 version: Compare Robert Redford’s Gatsby to DiCaprio’s. Redford is more stoic and mysterious; DiCaprio is more manic and emotional. It’s a great study in how different actors interpret the same text.
- Explore the soundtrack: Listen to how Lana Del Rey’s "Young and Beautiful" acts as a recurring theme for Daisy and Gatsby’s doomed romance. It’s as much a part of the characterization as the acting itself.
- Visit the filming locations: While it was shot in Australia, the actual Gold Coast of Long Island still has some of the mansions that inspired the book, like Old Westbury Gardens.
The enduring power of the cast of the movie The Great Gatsby lies in their ability to make a hundred-year-old story feel like it’s happening right now. They took characters that could have been cardboard cutouts of "The Roaring Twenties" and turned them into living, breathing, hurting people. Whether you loved the 3D effects or not, you can't deny that this ensemble brought West Egg to life in a way we won't forget anytime soon.