W Magazine chose this year’s 20 best acting performances and vamped the stars up for a fierce fashion spread.

VIOLA DAVIS, The Help
dress by Dolce & Gabbana

What a phenomenal lead-in photo for an epic movie star editorial like this one. Viola Davis is beyond beautiful – she’s captivating. I love the dress, I love the 1960s, slightly Dreamgirls styling, I love the star gazing intensely into her vanity lights. Fabulous.

GEORGE CLOONEY, The Descendants and The Ides of March
tuxedo by Giorgio Armani

It’s Clooney soaking wet. What could be wrong?

MICHELLE WILLIAMS, My Week with Marilyn
jacket and shorts by Moschino, bra by Eres, stockings by Falke, shoes by Manolo Blahnik

This is . . . unexpected! It’s been so long since I’ve seen Michelle Williams without her pixie haircut and often-twee wardrobe (except when she’s playing Marilyn Monroe), so this is at least a refreshing change, if not necessarily a welcome one. I love everything she’s wearing, but good LORD does she look uncomfortable. I don’t know if it’s the slightly awkward pose or the ridiculous wig that she looks like she’s about to rip off her head, but something doesn’t feel right. Except the shoes. They feel quite all right to me. I’d be simply thrilled to take them off Michelle’s hands for her.

JEAN DUJARDIN, The Artist
shirt and tie by Boss Black, watch by Rolex

Obligatory European chest hair shot.

OCTAVIA SPENCER, The Help
sweater by Elie Tahari

Oh, they could do so much better than this. The lighting shows nothing but poorly-applied makeup. I love the wild hair, but I wish I could see more of her.

ELIZABETH OLSEN, Martha Marcy May Marlene
dress by Calvin Klein

Another very strange look for the third Olsen sister, who usually goes out sans the black wig, black eyebrows, and 1920s makeup. She’s a little too wide-eyed and vacant to pull off this vampy old Hollywood thing, though, so this shot doesn’t quite work for me.

WILL FERRELL, Everything Must Go
pajamas by Derek Rose

Will, darling, I think you’ve got just a spot of lipstick outside your lip line.

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, J. Edgar
DiCaprio’s own shirt

Smoldering.

KIRSTEN DUNST, Melancholia
slip by Olatz

She makes a pretty fierce model. Intense eyes, lots of body angles, but there’s a stiffness and seriousness in her expression that’s kind of unsettling. Though I suppose that’s the point. I mean, besides showing off Kirsten’s rack.

ROONEY MARA, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
top by Nina Ricci

A beautiful picture. The red lighting really makes her glow.

GARY OLDMAN, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
shirt and bow tie by Tom Ford, suspenders by Brooks Brothers

Sirius Black looks fantastic in Tom Ford!

BRAD PITT, The Tree of Life and Moneyball
vest and shirt by Tom Ford

He looks like an aged and depressed Ken doll. This is terrifying. But then . . .

jacket and trousers by Burberry Prorsum; shirt, cummerbund and bow tie by Tom Ford

I mean, this is why we keep Brad Pitt around, isn’t it? Say what you will, the man can still wear a fucking suit like it’s his job. (Because it is.)

shirt by Tom Ford, tie by Dolce & Gabbana

He looks like Fabio. That’s not a compliment.

CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER, Beginners and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Plummer’s own suit, shirt and bow tie

Fabulous that he’s wearing his own clothes. That bow tie is outstanding.

MELISSA MCCARTHY, Bridesmaids
coat by Helen Yarmak, bustier by Va Bien

I’m not sure they needed to go so desperately sexy here, and I think all that makeup is positively unnecessary on her. It does more harm than good. I just think there’s a thousand ways to make her look fabulous without seeming this . . . cheesy, I guess.

TILDA SWINTON, We Need to Talk About Kevin
bra and briefs by Dolce & Gabbana, stockings by Falke, shoes by Christian Louboutin

They invented the phrase “legs for days” to describe Tilda Swinton. This is photographic evidence to prove it.

ALBERT BROOKS, Drive
jacket, shirt and bow tie by Giorgio Armani

Show more of the bow tie!

ANTONIO BANDERAS, The Skin I Live In
shirt by Emporio Armani

To be frank, this is pretty stupid. LOOK HOW INTENSE I AM! I TRIM MY EYEBROWS WITH GIANT SCISSORS WHILE WEARING A TANK TOP!

SHAILENE WOODLEY, The Descendants
bra and briefs by Eres

Shailene is twenty years old, but she tends to go for the more innocent looks. Though she’s now getting accolades for The Descendants, she’s still on that wretched ABC Family show The Secret Life of the American Teenager. So I guess they don’t let her go too sexy on the red carpet. But apparently they couldn’t stop her from donning vintage-style lingerie and showing the universe that she’s got talent, wide-eyed beauty and now tits, too! I must say, the hair and makeup are fantastic. She really does look lovely, even if she’s half naked laying on a bear.

CHARLIZE THERON, Young Adult
dress by Marchesa

Pretty fucking fierce. The eye makeup is particularly phenomenal, but the hair and jewelry are also fantastic. Sadly, W Mag’s focus on Charlize took a turn for the worse . . .

dress by Christian Dior, bra and briefs by Fleur of England

This looks like a reject from an America’s Next Top Model photo shoot, where the theme is models starving to death and falling down the stairs and turning into mannequin sex workers possessed by the devil.

gown by Oscar de la Renta, shoes by Gucci

Oh GOD, it just ACHES to be enveloped in thousands of dollars worth of couture fashion! Woe is me!

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All photos courtesy of Mario Sorrenti for W.
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© Democracy Diva, 2012.
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