Angelina, Scarlett, Keira Undress for Vanity Fair

Ford said he tried to capture each actor's character. For instance, Anne Hathaway is photographed wearing a Victorian dress. She is, Ford said, like a John Singer Sargent painting.

Reputed ladies man George Clooney, who has earned a reputation as a talented director and screenwriter for "Good Night, and Good Luck" this year, is shot directing an imaginary set filled with women wearing nothing but underwear.

"It just seemed like every woman's dream, so that's what we did," Ford said.

According to Ford, Peter Sarsgaard, who starred in "Boys Don't Cry" and "Jarhead," is "one of the most fearless actors today." In the issue, Sarsgaard is photographed wearing a nice suit, but bound with Japanese bondage rope and suspended in midair.

"We spent about an hour tying him up and hanging him from the ceiling," Ford said.