By Leslie Gornstein
March 2011
Duck into any scenester depot between Sunset and 3rd, and you’ll spot them: aspiring matinee idols, pretty lads sanguine in their skinny denims and studied slouching. If only that elusive Hollywood fifth element, aka star quality, were the mere sum of blessed bone structure and an adorably terminal case of bedhead. Alas, breaking out of the pack as the next alpha dog—read, Brando/Newman/DiCaprio—demands traits that are difficult to quantify. True stars are born, not groomed, and this year promises an embarrassment of riches. They hail from the four points of the English-speaking world
From striking redhead Eddie Redmayne—who’ll squire Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn—to Henry Hopper, barely out of his teens and already a leading man in Gus Van Sant’s tragic romance Restless, the It factor is strong in these guys. And speaking of romance: If you haven’t heard of them yet, the starlets surely have. Collectively, the gossip mags have linked this bunch to beauties ranging from Leighton Meester to Carey Mulligan. It’s only a matter of time before the rest of America falls for them, too.
Max Irons