British actress Iris Law arrives for the screening of the film “Forever Young (Les Amandiers)” at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2022. (Photo by Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters)

Supporters of Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez bring down an inflatable doll of Chavez during a commemoration of what would have been the leader's 68th birthday, at the 23 de Enero neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, July 28, 2022. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

Swedish actress Alicia Vikander poses during a photocall for the film “Firebrand” at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2023. (Photo by Joel C. Ryan/Invision/AP Photo)

A pelican on a lake in California in the first decade of January 2024 deftly snares a large trout after scooping it up, tossing it into the air and catching it in its bill. (Photo by Jiahong Zeng/Solent news)

Marine One with US President Joe Biden onboard takes off from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2024. Biden is travelling to Scranton, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Angerer/AFP Photo)

A retrospective spanning Enzo Mari's 60-year career. at the Science Museum in London on March 27, 2024. This large-scale exhibition includes the full spectrum of Mari's output, from his work as a designer, but also as an artist, teacher, critic and theorist. In total, more than 300 objects will be on display – most have not been seen in the UK before. (Photo by Guy Bell/Alamy Live News)

Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Hezly Rivera does a flip before throwing out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, Wednesday, September 4, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Jeffrey McWhorter/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.