Creations by fashion designer Guo Pei, one of China's leading couture artists, are seen on display during the “Guo Pei: Fashioning Imagination” exhibition at the M+ art museum in Hong Kong on September 17, 2024. (Photo by Peter Parks/AFP Photo)

Sporty Kendall Jenner shows her flexibility as she models Adanola's latest activewear collection on January 8, 2024. (Photo by Sean Thomas/The Mega Agency)

A French Cancan dancer performs in front of the Moulin Rouge cabaret during celebrations marking the restart of its iconic windmill with red sails, in Paris, France on July 10, 2025. (Photo by Tom Nicholson/Reuters)

A woman wearing a “Free Luigi” T-shirt walks at the Manhattan Supreme Court on the day Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson, is to appear on New York State murder and terrorism charges, in New York City, U.S., on September 16, 2025. (Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters)

Cosplayers attend Comic-Con International in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Reuters)

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.

Emily Ratajkowski is seen at “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on August 07, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A woman uses a tree branch to fight a fire on the road leading to the village of Parada, near Mortagua, northern Portugal, Thursday, August 11 2016. Firefighters in Portugal are battling multiple blazes fed by brush in a hot, dry summer for a sixth straight day. Major fires have also been raging in northwestern Spain and southern France. (Photo by Sergio Azenha/AP Photo)