SO SEXY THEY’RE SCARY

Looks like the sexiest acting races in eons. For the first time since costarring in Oscar heavyweight “Titanic,” screen heartthrobs Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are back together in “Revolutionary Road” and pining for their own first wins. Real-life lovebirds Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt haven’t been nominated in nearly a decade but now heat up the top races in separate films. And the academy may finally be smitten again with big, romantic epics thanks to Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman sizzling on screen in “Australia.”

ACTOR

Favorites

Leonardo DiCaprio, “Revolutionary Road”

Clint Eastwood, “Gran Torino”

Hugh Jackman, “Australia”

Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”

Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”

Sean Penn, “Milk”

Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Will Smith, “Seven Pounds”

Spotlight: Can DiCaprio finally cash in his old academy IOU? He may have been “Titanic’s” King of the World in 1997, but he got dethroned by Oscar voters. He was so upset about being snubbed for a nomination that he boycotted the ceremony in return -- then the most successful Hollywood film ever ($1.8 billion worldwide) sailed off to win 11 Oscars without him. The next time DiCaprio starred in a best-picture winner (“The Departed”), he did get nominated, but for the wrong picture (“Blood Diamond,” 2006) and lost.

Possible

Josh Brolin, “W.”

Daniel Craig, “Defiance”

Robert Downey Jr., “Iron Man”

Dustin Hoffman, “Last Chance Harvey”

Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Synecdoche, New York”

Michael Sheen, “Frost/Nixon”

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ACTRESS

Favorites

Kate Beckinsale, “Nothing But the Truth”

Cate Blanchett, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”

Sally Hawkins, “Happy-Go-Lucky”

Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”

Nicole Kidman, “Australia”

Keira Knightley, “The Duchess”

Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”

Meryl Streep, “Doubt”

Kristin Scott Thomas, “I’ve Loved You So Long”

Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”

Spotlight: Is the most fabulous star in the world (go ahead, name someone more fab than Angelina Jolie) being punished by snobbish academy members for her tabloid life? Jolie hasn’t been nominated for an Oscar since winning the supporting race for “Girl, Interrupted” (1999) and she was snubbed again last year after being nominated by the Golden Globes, SAG, Critics Choice and Indie Spirit Awards for “A Mighty Heart.”

Possible

Penelope Cruz, “Elegy”

Emma Thompson, “Last Chance Harvey”

Michelle Williams, “Wendy and Lucy”

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SUPPORTING ACTOR

Favorites

Josh Brolin, “Milk”

Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”

Ralph Fiennes, “The Duchess”

Ralph Fiennes, “The Reader”

James Franco, “Milk”

Emile Hirsch, “Milk”

Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”

Bill Irwin, “Rachel Getting Married”

David Kross, “The Reader”

Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”

Eddie Marsan, “Happy-Go-Lucky”

Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Liev Schreiber, “Defiance”

Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road”

Spotlight: Can the Joker really get the last laugh? Only one actor has ever won an Oscar posthumously and that’s Peter Finch (“Network”), who died just weeks before nominations came out. Perhaps the passage of time hurt the chances of Spencer Tracy (“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”) and a heartthrob star who, like Heath Ledger, had a promising career cut short by tragedy. James Dean had two posthumous noms. The first -- for “East of Eden” -- came nearly half a year after he died in a car wreck. He was nommed the next year too (“Giant”) and lost both bids.

Possible

Alan Alda, “Nothing But the Truth”

James Cromwell, “W.”

Richard Dreyfuss, “W.”

Aaron Eckhart, “The Dark Knight”

Dennis Hopper, “Elegy”

John Malkovich, “Burn After Reading”

John Malkovich, “Changeling”

Brad Pitt, “Burn After Reading”

Sam Rockwell, “Frost/Nixon”

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SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Favorites

Amy Adams, “Doubt”

Kathy Bates, “Revolutionary Road”

Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

Viola Davis, “Doubt”

Rosemarie DeWitt, “Rachel Getting Married”

Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”

Debra Winger, “Rachel Getting Married”

Kate Winslet, “The Reader”

Spotlight: Woody Allen’s crazy characters really go wild in the supporting races: 10 nominations, four wins. After proving her dramatic chops in “Volver” (lead actress nomination, 2006), Penelope Cruz could be rewarded for her comedic skills as a hotheaded ex-wife who’s packing heat and gets all fired up (everybody, duck!) in “Vicky.”

Possible

Hiam Abbass, “The Visitor”

Rosario Dawson, “Seven Pounds”

Rebecca Hall, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”

Beyonce Knowles, “Cadillac Records”

Queen Latifah, “The Secret Life of Bees”

Lena Olin, “The Reader”

Tilda Swinton, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”

Elsa Zylberstein, “I’ve Loved You So Long”

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THE PICKS

Gold Derby blogger Tom O’Neil predicts the Oscar season for The Envelope. For ongoing discussion of the season and other campaigns for gold -- Golden Globes, Grammys and more -- visit TheEnvelope.com.