
Ray, Collateral | Jamie Foxx, photographed by Cliff Watts on August 18

Closer | Clive Owen, photographed by Jeff Minton on November 22

The Aviator | Leonardo DiCaprio, photographed by Chuck Close on December 13

Closer | Natalie Portman, photographed by Jeff Minton on November 22

Sideways | Thomas Haden Churck, Sandra Oh, Paul Giamatti, Virginia Madsen, and Alexander Payne, photographed by Bruce Duffy on November 7

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Finding Neverland | Kate Winslet, photographed by Dan Winter on November 10

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Jim Carrey, photographed by Platon on November 22

Finding Neverland | Marc Forster, photographed by Wendy Jones Fletcher on November 3

The Sea Inside | Javier Bardem, photographed by Chris Buck on September 17

Fahrenheit 9/11 | Michael Moore, photographed by Michael Edwards on December 20

Birth | Nicole Kidman, photographed by Dan Winters on December 7

Kinsey | Bill Condon, photographed by Chris Buck on November 19

Kinsey | Laura Linney, photographed by Chris Buck on October 19

Kinsey | Liam Neeson, photographed by Platon on October 26

A Very Long Engagement | Audrey Tatou, photographed by Jeff Minton on November 12

The Motorcycle Diaries | Walter Salles, Rodrigo de la Serna, and Gael Garcia Bernal photographed by Bryce Duffy on September 24

Vera Drake | Imelda Staunton, photographed by Wendy Jones Fletcher on October 15

Vera Drake | Mike Leigh, photographed by Wendy Jones Fletcher on October 15

Hotel Rwanda | Don Cheadle, photographed by Chris Buck on October 20

Million Dollar Baby | Hilary Swank, photographed by Bryce Duffy on December 15

House of Flying Daggers | Yimou Zhang, photographed by Wendy Jones Fletcher on October 8

House of Flying Daggers | Ziyi Zhang, photographed by Platon on November 21

Maria Full of Grace | Catalina Sandino Moreno, photographed by Chris Buck on November 19

Around the Bend | Christopher Walken, photographed by Platon on October 25

The Phantom of the Opera | emmy Rossum, photographed by Michael Edwards on December 21

The Woodsman | Kevin Bacon, photographed by Bruce Davidson on August 23

Being Julia | Annette Bening, photographed by Bryce Duffy on October 28

The Life Aquatic | Wes Anderson, photographed by Jeff Minton on November 21

The Aviator, The Life Aquatic | Cate Blanchett, photographed by Platon on November 20

The Incredibles | Brad Bird, photographed by Jeff Minton on December 2

Collteral | Michael Mann, photographed by Wendy Jones Fletcher on November 3
For this year's exclusive selection of portraits, we were inspired by the approach of Chuck Close, an artist who uses headshot photography to chip away at any contrived relationship between the photographer and subject. Close's method set the pace for a group of like-minded photographers who captured some of this season's top contenders in their own similar, albeit unique, ways, all of which are short on pretense and long on intimacy. As a result, our 2005 portfolio presents this year's best in the way they look best: up close and personal.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com