A young slave brutalized by a sadistic master. I aint got no she didnt have the luxury of sentimentalizing her pain. And so neither could i in playing her. We dont work for you, man. Technically you do work for me. A ruthless soul sucking wall street broker. Donny has no impulse control. No morality. And completely values the wrong things. Indescribably complex roles that have stretched these four actors to their limits. And won them nominations for hollywoods biggest prize. The oscar. Tonight, vanity fairs krista smith sits down with four of hollywoods hottest actors in cnn spotlight and the nominees are. Whats awesome about these dresses is they do look good on a lot of different body types. I met up with best actress nominee amy adams at the dbf journey of a dress exhibition in los angeles. Where one of the dresses she wore in American Hustle is on display. How was that for you to be so out there . Just to be so exposed . We were trying on clothes, just it just sort of became this thing. When sidney was feeling its like this strange mix of vulnerability and power that she has. Play your part. Fine. You play your part. She used it as a manipulation. She used it as a distraction. She used it as middle finger to her lover who brought his wife. She was going to be seen, you know. And seen, she was. Decked out in sexy 1970s glam, actress amy adams shined in American Hustle. Shedding her girl next door image and perfecting the role of sidney. Con artist and seductress. Oh, my god. I could only dream about these dresses. Theyre beautiful. We do American Hustle and i suddenly become aware of my decolletage. I dont know if we actually saw your boobs. No, you didnt. Theres some really nice editing. What drew you to this particular film and character, sidney . You know, it was david. I mean, i got to really try something new. Director David O Russell had adams in mind from the start. I said i want to make a character thats worth you putting your heart in it. I want it to play the broadest range of your emotion all the way from your rawness to your most elegant, your most glamorous, most sexy, most remantic but also your most emotional mess. Youre going to be able to be all those things. We didnt have a stript until, like, the week before. Thats how david works. Hell call you two days before you get a text. Theres this amazing scene in this one movie. Oh, and also youre a stripper. Youre like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Go back. What . Sidney is a stripper . She was, she was. Hes like, oh, yeah. Were going to shoot the scene. Then, you know, youre learning about your character as you go. I falsified my records. I falsified them. My name is sidney. Im from albuquerque, new mexico. I loved the idea of this woman who had great vulnerability, but at the same time had this survivors instinct. And i found that just really something i identified with. Something i really was excited to play. I hadnt played that before. She had mostly played wholesome and naive. Before sidney, she lit up the screen as the princess gisele in the disny hit enchanted. Where is your love of musical theater come from . Wasnt this fun . Yeah. I just loved it. It was always just something that spoke to my spirit, you though. Adams was raised in the Mormon Church until the age of 11 when her parents divorced. You had Seven Brothers and sisters, right . Yes. You were smack in the middle. In the middle, yeah. And youre the only performer out of everybody. Im the only one who chose it as a career. You grew up in colorado. Then after high school did you make a decision that this is it . Im going to be an actress . Or im going to be a singer . I was going to be a dancer. I always wanted to pursue theater. But i always thought it would be, you know, through dance. I think i always wanted to act but i was too just too afraid to say it, you know. Because it took a lot for me to say, you know what . I just want to try. I just want to try. Adams did try. After a short stint as a waitress at hooters. Famously you had the job at hooters for a minute. Oh, my gosh. The three months that, like, lasts forever in your life. Young ladies, watch what you do. I have to say in the guinness book of World Records i bet you youre the only one time hooters waitress that has received five oscar nominations. Probably. Ill go out on a limb and say that. Adams opted out of college and soon found her way into the dinner theater circuit. You landed in a company in minnesota. I did. What do you think about that kind of day in and day out where youre actually singing then youre serving dessert in between the acts . You know, its such great discipline. Really, you develop a work ethic. Hi, pat. Her talents caught the eye of a Film Producer who gave adams her first role on the big screen. In the dark comedy drop dead gorgeous. Hey i got second runnerup. I got second place third. Huh . Third. At 24 years old she was hollywood bound. She got a string of guest spots on tv shows like buffy the vampire slayer. I hope youll all be happy hanging out with a disgusting demon. And that 70s show. So that was fun. But everything changed in 2002. With a chance of a lifetime audition for director steven spielberg. Steven, i mean, come on. I was like, oh, gosh. I was 27. The character was meant to be quite younger. So i showed up in, like, some pink cotton cardigan and ill fitting khakis. I thought, you know what . Im going to present myself the way that im going to. It was the first time where i really was like, i can do this. And she did. In catch me if you can adams nailed the role as a gullible candy striper falling for an imposter played by Leonardo Dicaprio. This is my first week. I think theyre going to fire me. No. The film was a hit. But somehow, adams failed to gain momentum. That movie came out and it didnt necessarily become the amy adams world that we all live in now. Yes. Well, yes. No, i mean that was disheartening. Not in the sense that i wasnt happy with the work, but i really thought it would get easier. Things only got tougher. With no movie offers for a year, adams returned to tv, joining the series dr. Vegas. Hes a doctor at the casino. Kind of weird. Thats vegas. But the show was canceled after just one season. I was broke. I really was at a crossroads. I was sort of deciding if if i didnt want to be a miserable actor. When we come back, amy adams on her crisis of confidence. I wouldnt have hired me to be in a big movie. I was i was a disaster. No matter how busy your morning you can always do Something Better for yourself. And better is so easy with benefiber. Fiber thats tastefree, gritfree and dissolves completely. So you can feel free to add it to anything. And feel better about doing it. Better it with benefiber. Told ya you could do it. dad vo i want her to be safe. So, i taught her what i could and got her a subaru. girl piece of cake. announcer love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Did you run into traffic . No, just had to stop by the house to grab a few things. You stopped by the house . Uhhuh. Yea. Alright, whenever you get your stuff, run upstairs, get cleaned up for dinner. You leave the house in good shape . Yea. Yea, of course. [ sportscaster talking on tv ] lastsecond field go yea, sure ya did. [ male announcer ] introducing at t digital life. Personalized Home Security and automation. Get professionally monitored security for just 29. 99 a month. With limited availability in select markets. Before chantix, i tried to quit probably about five times. It was different than the other times i tried to quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, Chantix Varenicline is proven to help people quit smoking. Its a nonnicotine pill. Chantix reduced my urge to smoke. That helped me quit smoking. [ male announcer ] some people had changes in behavior, thinking, or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood, and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. If you notice any of these, stop chantix, and call your doctor right away. Tell your doctor about any history of mentalhealth problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. Dont take chantix if youve had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. If you develop these, stop chantix and see your doctor right away, as some can be lifethreatening. Tell your doctor if you have a history of heart or bloodvessel problems or if you develop new or worse symptoms. Get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. Use caution when driving or operating machinery. Common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping, and unusual dreams. My quit date was my sons birthday, and that was my gift for him and me. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. And spend your time working hard to get to point b. And b could be here. Or even here. But for you, b is not the end. Capella university will help take you further, because our competencybased curriculum is designed for your profession, to move you forward to where you want to be. Your point c. Capella university. Start your journey at capella. Edu. Kind of before sidney really goes to the dark side. Its just kind of conservative. Im not trying to distract anybody yet. Before amy adams found her dark side in films like American Hustle, she struggled to find her place in the acting world. I think about it now. I wouldnt have hired me to be in a big movie. I was a disaster. I had a crisis of confidence. And i couldnt find my authentic self in that struggle. I hadnt worked for, like, a year, and i was broke. I thought if this cant make me happy i need to find something else. I was starting to sort of lose my way a little bit. But what was interesting is i was looking at it incorrectly. I was thinking a role made the difference. Or an opportunity. But if youre not ready for that moment to happen, its not going to happen. By 2005, adams was ready. She was 31 years old when she stole the spotlight in the low budget independent film june bug. Try out for cheer leading or anything . I tried out but i didnt make it. I was born in japan. You were not. Did you have any idea when that film came out it was going to kind of, you know, catapult you into a whole other echelon of of roles . No. None. I remember when i watched it, the thing that struck me was that people found her funny. Because when i played her, i found her so tragic. I thought i was playing, like, a great tragic character. God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way. That character landed adams her first oscar nomination for best supporting actress. But her role as the funny, irresistible princess in disneys enchanted made her a star. Everybody wants to know their true love is true how do you know adams was on a fast track. The offers came in. She costarred with meryl streep in back to back films. Doubt and julie and julia. Bon app teetite. You make it sound so simple. Are you married . David really broke you out in the fighter. Its true. You got to wear a belly shirt. I had a lot of belly, too. He said i want her to look like a girl who eats and drinks beer. I said, not a problem. That i can do. I hadnt read a page. He said im going to send you a couple pages. You need to do this. Its charleen. He told me about one scene where she gets in a fight. The movie was a smash and adams a knockout. The part made her a contender for more complex roles. In the master she was the twisted wife of a cult leader played by the late Philip Seymour hoffman. If we dont do that, we will lose every battle that we are engaged in. We will never dominate our environment the way we should unless we attack. Her chilling performance seemed to obliterate her squeaky clean image and led to her darkest role to date. The cop. In case we need to use him. If we need another move. In American Hustle adams went deeper than she ever had. She disappeared into the seductive, scheming sidney. A stripper turned con artist with a bogus identity. There are times when she doesnt know where she comes from. As an audience member watching it, i can imagine that must be frustrating. Is she kidding him . Is she not . Is she lying to him . Is she not . I dont know that she always knows. I felt that in playing her. No ones really seen you in a part like this before. Yeah. It was kind of gross to play. I dont think shes a character that operates very well in her vulnerability. It pisses her off. Anyone in the wake of that vulnerability is going to suffer. Adams turned aggressive opposite costar Bradley Cooper. No, no im not [ bleep ] you no [ bleep ] the tension created felt very organic. The sort of frenetic desperation, you know, we all have about this sort of, like, need for recreation that kind of runs through all the characters. But she got to have some fun, too. There was that Epic New York city dance with partner in crime, Christian Bale. I dont know how you got through it just looking at Bradley Cooper with those curls and Christian Bale with the worst combover ever. The guys were just so committed. Christian, he gained the weight. He shaved his head. He wasnt necessarily in good shape, and he had this comb over that was rather elaborate. And he had this confidence that drew me to him. The one scene that i remember so well in that movie was when you youre waiting for the two women to meet. And then you do encounter jens character in that bathroom. Thats jennifer lawrence. Adams unhinged costar and on screen nemesis. It might be done now but it was beautiful and it was real. And we loved each other. Stop it. I remember we had shot it was at the end of a long day. I think it was so much expectation on it. Watching as a movie goer, you did feel that kind of crazy tension. You scare him and you manipulate him and you use your son. In that moment, i thought, oh, my gosh. We are alike. We manifest it in different ways, but were both so scared and just clinging, clawing for stability. For a sense of self. I will make you so sorry for what youve done to my family. Mark my words. Thats [ bleep ] up. I would never say anything that [ bleep ] up to anybody but you do because youre gross inside. Oh, im gross inside . The intense role was hard to shake off the set. How do you separate it . How do you not take that home with you . Or do you . After i had my daughter, i struggled with that a little bit. Because i needed to come home and be clean for her. And especially when i started doing this, i realized, i really need to leave sidney at work. I made a real conscious effort. I have a wonderful partner, darren, who really helped me with that. And despite her five oscar nominations, adams hasnt succumbed to the pitphfalls of fame. I work really hard so that it stays my job and not my life. I think thats important. And thats what i learned. You show up on time. You know, you treat people with respect. And you learn your stuff. You do it. Its just beyond my little colorado girls dreams. Its just really beyond. Amy amy coming up, a rockstar ready for his closeup. Why are you so good to me . And his ultimate fra transformation. You know what . You dont deserve our money. [ male announcer ] frequent heartburn . The choice is yours. Chalky. Not chalky. Temporary. 24 hour. Lots of tablets. One pill. You decide. Prevent acid with prevacid 24hr. You decide. So, if youre what ysleeping in your is youcontact lenses, ask about the air optix® contacts so breathable theyre approved for up to 30 nights of continuous wear. Ask your doctor about Safety Information as serious eye problems may occur. Visit airoptix. Com for a free onemonth trial. So i got the new nokia lumia icon. Its got 1080p video, three times zoom, and a twentymegapixel sensor. Its got the brightest display, so i can see what im shooting even outdoors, and 4 mics that capture incredible sound. Plus, it has apps like vine and free cloud storage. My new lumia icon is so great, even our wipeouts look amazing. Honestly, i want to see you be brave do you like this dress . Because i think the necklines a little plunging. I almost didnt recognize you. I kept the character so close to me. Why are you so good to me . Actor jared letos haunting portrayal of rayon, an hiv positive transgender woman, captured the emotional core of the hit film dallas buyers club. Catapulting him into the spotlight and creating serious oscar buzz. I feel like youve been shot out of a cannon. How has this whole experience been . Its been absolutely wonderful. I think the unexpected nature of all of this has made it that much more impactful. Unexpected, since leto hadnt made a film for years. Taking time off to focus on his band, 30 seconds to mars. What if i wanted to break for the bulk of his career, leto has alternated between actor and rock star. I remember that you took a lot of heat for that. Like, oh, of course. Now he wants to be a rock star. Sure. But you did it. You actually sold out 100,000 seat satadiums. Ive always been a creative person. I made music years and years before i even dreamed of acting. But most people dont know that. I was reading about how you were raised. Like, you basically traveled a lot as a kid. My mom climbed out of the muddy banks of the mississippi with her kids in one hand and a fist full of food stamps in the other. Id say that kind of is a joke, but its really true, too. In search of a better life for herself. But i think the experiences of moving around a lot prepared me for life on the road. For a sense of adventure. You know, i wanted to be a painter at first. I studied to be an artist. A fine artist. And i pursued that for many years. And i discovered film making. That led to an interest in acting. Leto headed to los angeles in 1992. His good looks and ability to pull off the perfect teen slacker landed him in the television cult hit my socalled life. Get in. We were basically introduced to you as jordan catalano. I cant believe that show was only on for a year. Do you miss that character at all . You know, it was such a short period of my life. It really found an audience because it was replayed so long on mtv. I got to go. Leto was an instant heartthrob. But worked hard to get more challenging parts. It didnt take long. Looks like needless Wind Resistance to me. He secured his first leading role in prefontaine. Leto immersed himself into the part. Training for weeks. Sculpting his body. Becoming the athlete. I dont know whether the words method or not. But you stay in character throughout the whole process. I find it to be really Fertile Ground to learn and experiment, to explore the space. Right . Usually when youre making a film, you hav