Swedish fashion model Elsa Hosk attends the “The History Of Sound” red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 21, 2025 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Benoit Tessier/Reuters)

American actress Dakota Johnson is seen in Tribeca on June 05, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Aeon/GC Images)

American actress Sydney Sweeney attending the European premiere of Echo Valley, at BFI Southbank in London on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Photo by Ian West/PA Wire)

A Kathakali classical dancer (2L) watches artists rehearse the traditional folk dance Pulikkali (Tiger Dance) as they wait backstage before their performance at a cultural festival in Chennai on July 12, 2025. (Photo by R. Satish Babu/AFP Photo)

Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian celebrate Khloe’s birthday with Care Bears on July 20, 2025. (Photo by khloekardashian/Instagram)

Drummers perform during rehearsals at the Bird's Nest National Stadium ahead of the IAAF Athletics World Championships in Beijing on August 20, 2015. The Athletics World Championships will be held at the stadium from August 22 to 30. (Photo by Greg Baker/AFP Photo)

Venezuela: An anti-government protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask throws a molotov cocktail at the Bolivarian National Police during clashes in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, April 17, 2014. Opposition protesters have been demonstrating against high crime, high inflation and shortages of basic goods since mid-February. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: place actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such was the premise behind his book, In Character: Actors Acting, which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Luckily for us, he continued the tradition for Vanity Fair. Here are some of the best.