Best Performances

1
Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
âI was at the Oscars, waiting to hear if my name was called, and I kept thinking, Cakewalk, cakewalk, cakewalk. I thought, Why is âcakewalkâ stuck in my head? And then, as I started to walk up the stairs and the fabric from my dress tucked under my feet, I realized my stylist had told me, âKick, walk, kick, walk.â You are supposed to kick the dress out while you walk, and I totally forgot because I was thinking about cake! And thatâs why I fell.â
2
Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club and Mud
âI wanted to shake up my relationship with my career. I didnât want to do romantic comedies or action adventures anymore, so when those projects came in, I said no. For about eight months, I kept saying no, no, noâand then there was nothing being offered to say no to. That was scary, but I was looking to be scared. Finally, the target drew the arrow: I started getting calls to play characters. And here we are.â
Dolce & Gabbana jacket, shirt, and pants; Bruno Magli shoes.
3
Lupita Nyongâo in 12 Years a Slave
âWhen I got the role in 12 Years a Slave, I called my father and said, âDaddy, I got a part in a movie! Do you know Brad Pitt?â And he said, âIâve heard of him, but I donât know him personally.â I said, âWellâheâs producing this movie, and heâs really big in Hollywood.â My father paused and then said, âSo you have a job! Good. Congratulations! And good night!â That call put everything in perspective.
Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane dress; Ana Khouri necklace.
4
Will Ferrell in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues
âWe shot a musical number for Anchorman 2 called âItâs a Great Big World.â Itâs about Ron Burgundy and the news team walking into a 24-hour station and seeing all the television monitors. He dances and stumbles onto all these people in the office. Someone says, âIâm gay,â and Ron sings, âIf I were gay for a day, thereâs nothing I wouldnât say.â It wasnât one of our funnier things. It was cut from the film.â
Howler Brothers jacket; 7 For All Mankind T-shirt; Leisure Society by Shane Baum shorts.
5
Lea Seydoux in Blue Is the Warmest Color
âIâm a huge fan of Woody Allen. He is my god. When he cast me in Midnight in Paris, he was already shooting the film. He saw a picture of me and called me up and asked how long my hair was. I told him, âItâs around my shoulders.â He said, âOkay, cool, see you tomorrow on set.â I hadnât read the script, and I hadnât read for him, but I said, âOf course.â When God calls, you answer.â
John Galliano dress.
6
Casey Affleck in Out of the Furnace
âI sobbed and sobbed when I saw The Elephant Man. My brother and I watched it on a little black and white TV set in my fatherâs apartment. Iâm sure I also saw, you know, The Goonies as a child, but The Elephant Man haunted me.â
Calvin Klein Underwear T-shirt; Gap pants.
7
Idris Elba in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
âI played Stringer Bell, a drug dealer, on The Wire, and the power of that part was amazing. Real drug dealers and thugs would think I was truly a gangster. They gave me a lot of respectâ theyâd hand me cocaine as a kind of salute. At times I had to remind myself that I was just an actor.â
Rag & Bone shirt; Cartier watch.
8
Brie Larson in Short Term 12
âThe first job I booked was a skit, a fake Barbie commercial for the Jay Leno show called Malibu Mudslide Barbie. I was 8, and I looked perfectly American-cute, but I had an evil streak. In the sketch, Iâm playing with the Barbies and a bucket of mud is poured on top of them. I was so excited: I had lines, I had a dressing room with my name on it, and I was being talked to like an actor. I thought I was on my way to stardom.â
Balmain top.
9
James Franco in Spring Breakers
âI had cornrows in Spring Breakers, which helped me get into character. They were so itchy. Once you have that hairstyle, youâre suddenly in a weird club. People come up to you and talk about cornrows. Oftentimes, those other cornrow people would have guns. I never broke characterâI needed to feel like that self-invented gangster at all times. To me, he is an example of the scary things that can happen when you get everything you want.â
Gucci jacket and jeans; Guess T-shirt.
10
Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks
âI am not quite pro-Disneyland. I first went there as a teenager, and it was a confusing place for a girl from England: Something about the merging of dark, ancient Europe and 1950s America was very strange. I remember my father saying, âWhy do they call them ârestroomsâ at Disneyland? I donât want to have a rest.â â
Dolce & Gabbana slip.
11
Amy Adams in American Hustle and Her
âI learned to like auditions. I didnât get most of the jobs, so I viewed auditions as my only opportunity to act. I was invested: I would dress the part. When I tried out for Catch Me If You Can, my character had braces, and I wore teeth-whitening trays to the auditionâI wanted the sensation of something awkward being in my mouth, of sounding lispy. Amazingly, I got the part.â
Blumarine gown; Van Cleef & Arpels earrings and bracelet.
12
Michael B. Jordan in Fruitvale Station
âI was on All My Children at 17, and I had to do my first ever sex scene. I like to make things real, and it was one of those moments. He [pointing at his crotch] doesnât know thereâs a script, so I said to the actress, âI apologize if he moves, and I apologize if he doesnât.â Everything worked out cool: Itâs not a sex tape.â
Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci vest.
13
Olivia Wilde in Drinking Buddies and Her
âWhen I was around 5, people started saying, not necessarily in a positive way, âUh ohâI think we have an actress on our hands!â Now I understand that they thought I was overly theatrical, but at the time, I said, âReally? Why, thank you. I will become a child star!â Sadly, my parents would not let me get an agent. They flat out refused, which I thought was abusive.â
Roberto Cavalli gown; Harry Winston bracelet; Manolo Blahnik sandals.
14
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Don Jon
âMy professional crush is on Orson Welles. The first thing he did that rocked the planet was The War of the Worlds, a fake radio broadcast where he convinced Americans that they were being invaded by Martians. And then he made Citizen Kane. So, fuck itâ Iâm just going to aim high.â
Dior Homme shirt; Dolce & Gabbana tie; Leviâs jeans.
15
Chris Hemsworth in Rush and Thor: The Dark World
âI auditioned for Thor, and I didnât get called back. I was intimidated by the director, Kenneth Branaghâto me, he is Shakespeare. My brother, Liam, was luckier. He was one of the final five guys up for the part, but none of them were quite right. My manager said, âIf you liked Liam, maybe youâll also like his older brother.â This time, I was pissed off. I didnât care about Shakespeare anymore; swagger got me the part.â
Dolce & Gabbana jacket; AllSaints T-shirt.
16
Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine and The Monuments Men
âFor a lot of women, clothes donât reflect who they areâbut who they want to be. The wardrobe of my character in Blue Jasmine is the last vestige of her former life as a wealthy lady. She loses everything when her husbandâs shady business is exposed, and I spent a lot of time thinking about which clothes she would hide from the Feds. I knew she would keep her Chanel jacket. It might be somewhat frayed, but she needed to use it as a mask.â
Ralph Lauren Collection dress.
17
Michael Shannon in The Iceman and Man of Steel
âI kind of fell into acting in high school. I did it because I really enjoyed taking a break from being myself. When I was young, they always gave me fatherly parts. There were other tall dudes, but they said, âYou could be the old guy.â I guess itâs because Iâm naturally crotchety.â
18
Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave
âSteve McQueen called me up one day and said, âI want you to do this thing.â It was 12 Years a Slave. He couldnât believe that I didnât immediately say yes, that there was any conversation to be had. But it wasnât an easy yes. I needed to read the book. And while I was reading, I slipped down the rabbit hole. It took me a while to get out. I finished the book in floods of tears. Only then did I say yes.â
Prada tuxedo; Thomas Pink shirt; Alexander Olch tie; Cartier.
19
Julie Delpy in Before Midnight
âIn Before Midnight, I show my breasts. I decided, Okay, it has to be like Iâm alone in the room with my boyfriend. I blocked out the fact that I was topless, and I worked all day on the set with my breasts showing. I never put on a robe, even between takes.â
Vivienne Westwood Gold Label dress.
20
Mickey Sumner in Frances Ha
âThe first movie I saw in a theater was Raiders of the Lost Ark. My dad picked us all up from school and took us. It was also the first time I was allowed to drink Coca-Cola. The movie terrified me: Everyone burned. But Harrison Ford was just so gorgeous. That and the Coca-Cola made up for my terror.â
Miu Miu dress; Prada bracelet; Manolo Blahnik sandals.
21
Penelope Cruz in Twice Born
âI have made five films with Pedro AlmodĂłvar, and in four of those movies, I am pregnant and have a baby. Now that Iâm a mother, I would play those delivery scenes differently. Before, I would scream very loud during the birth. Now that Iâve actually had children, I would show more pain and scream less. It sounds backwards and may be less dramatic, but more pain, smaller screaming is the reality.â
Emporio Armani dress; Chopard earrings and necklace.
22
Bruce Dern in Nebraska
âMy parents did not approve of my career. My mother said, âYou might think youâre doing entertaining films, but I canât take your grandfather to The Trip. He doesnât even know what LSD is, and thatâs what the movie is about. And why, oh, why would you be on a motorcycle in nine consecutive films? Why canât you be like Henry Fonda?â And, full circle: The director Alexander Payneâs first choice for my character in Nebraska was Henry Fonda. He wasnât here, so I lucked out.â
23
Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club
âI was in character throughout the shooting of Dallas Buyers Club, and the world would react to me as a man dressed as a woman. One day, on a break, I walked through Whole Foods. I got three distinct looks: Who is that?, What is that?, and I donât know what that is, but I donât like it.â
Burberry Brit coat; T by Alexander Wang T-shirt.
24
Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha
âWhen I was 12, I realized that I would never be a professional dancer. In ballet, if your body is not right, it becomes self-flagellation, which is, I guess, its own pleasure, but that wasnât enough for me. Before I quit, I played Clara in The Nutcracker with the Sacramento Ballet, which was a very big deal. My teacher said to me, âYou know, they only gave you the part because of your personality.â For the rest of my life, that tape has been in my head: I feel like everything Iâve achieved was because of my personality, rather than my ability.â
Valentino dress; Miu Miu shoes.
25
Jonah Hill in The Wolf of Wall Street
âGoodfellas is the reason I make movies, and when I heard that there was a part in a [Martin] Scorsese movie that I would be great for, I said I would die to do it. I flew to New York to read for him. They took me into the audition room, and the air conditioner was busted and it was about 100 degrees. I started pouring sweat. I was literally dripping, but I couldnât decide whether to be ĂŒber polite and say nothing or complain. I finally told Scorsese that it was too hot to concentrate, and he let me read the scenes in his refrigerated office. I was like, All right, no turning back. Afterward, I didnât care whether or not I got the role. I walked all the way home from uptown to downtown thinking, That was the greatest thing ever.â
Calvin Klein Collection suit; Prada shirt; Burberry London tie; Alexander Olch pocket square; Tom Ford cummerbund; Patek Philippe watch; Common Projects shoes.
26
Dane Dehaan in Kill Your Darlings
âWhen I auditioned for Lucien Carr in Kill Your Darlings, I felt it would be helpful if I dressed the part. I think itâs useful to have the air of the character about youâI try to fool the director into thinking thatâs who I am. For Lucien, I was preppy and snarky. At the end of my audition, the director asked, âWhat are you doing in February?â I looked at him and said, âYou tell meââthat was very Lucien Carr. The director later told me that my response was one of the main reasons he cast me.â
Marc Jacobs cardigan; A.P.C. shirt; Rag & Bone jeans; Bottega Veneta bracelet.
27
Scarlett Johansson in Her
âMy character, Samantha, doesnât have a body. Sheâs just a voice. And yet the vocal work was extremely intimate. I spent all of my hours in a little sound booth, and when I spoke the sex scenes, the windows definitely fogged up. Spike [Jonze, the director] knocked on the door and asked, âWhoaâare you okay?â I said, âI just want to throw a little heat into this life.â â
Vivienne Westwood Couture dress.
28
Ben Foster in Kill Your Darlings, Lone Survivor, and Ainât Them Bodies Saints
âI like being around soldiers. I like peopleâpolicemen, enlisted menâwho have a warrior ethos. Forget the politics; these men are noble. By playing soldiers, Iâm proud to say, Iâve become a good shot. Making a movie is not like war. No oneâs claiming itâs war, but when you take out a target at 300 yards, it feels pretty damn good. Itâs like a drug. Having said that, I wish somebody would cast me in a romantic comedy.â
Vivienne Westwood Man blazer and pants; Dolce & Gabbana shirt; Richard James tie; Louis Vuitton shoes.
29
Shailene Woodley in The Spectacular Now
âWhen I saw Titanic, I wasnât allowed to look when Kate Winslet took her robe off and posed naked for Leonardo DiCaprio. My parents were in the room, and they made me turn my face so that I didnât see her breasts. We had French doors to our backyard, and I could see the scene reflected in the glass. I remember thinking, Oh, my Godâone day Iâm going to have those, and itâs so exciting.â
Vince T-shirt.
30
Amanda Seyfried in Lovelace
âDeep Throat is a disgusting film. Itâs not artistic, even though it was the first feature-length porn movie to be released in theaters. It does have a plot, which is funny. But the long scenes of people having sex were not interesting to me. I watched 20 minutes, and that was enough.â
Dior dress.
31
Oprah Winfrey in Lee Danielsâ The Butler
âMy first crush at the movies was on Robert Duvall in The Godfather. Heâs really the unsung hero of the film, the stabilizer of the family. He keeps everybody going, and he knows all the secrets, but he has his own sense of honor and dignity. I love that. I loved him.â
Azzedine AlaĂŻa custom bodysuit, skirt, and belt; David Yurman bracelet; Verdura ring.
32
Jake Gylienhaal in Prisoners
âThe first movie I remember seeing was Gigi. My mother and sister sort of forced me to watch it when I was 4 or 5. I remember Gigi getting drunk and being unclear about why her behavior was suddenly so erratic. I remember thinking, Why is this person acting so strangely? As for her being a prostitute, that I got immediately.â
True Religion T-shirt.