Actress Cristin Milioti attends the HBO Max Primetime Emmy Awards Afterparty at San Vicente Bungalows on September 14, 2025 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by David Jon/Getty Images for HBO Max)

An animal enthusiast touches a Bearded Dragon displayed for sale as exotic pet at Thailand Reptile and Exotic Expo in Bangkok, Thailand, 02 August 2024. The Thailand Reptile and Exotic Expo is a trade showcase exhibiting hundreds of reptiles and exotic animals from breeders to sell as exotic pets for enthusiasts. (Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA)

The Lumix GX1 single lens reflex (SLR) camera with 14-42 mm powerzoom lens is displayed at the Panasonic booth at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center January 10, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new camera comes with an external viewfinder and flash and an ISO up to 12,800. The camera as shown sells for USD 949; the camera body alone is USD 799. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

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.

Models display creations by fashion house Andres Sarda during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain, April 8, 2021. (Photo by Sergio Perez/Reuters)

English television presenter Maya Jama posed in her outfit after fronting UK Love Island: Aftersun in the second decade of June 2023. (Photo by Instagram)

Armed police officers and soldiers strengthen their training in seawater in Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Province, China on July 24, 2023. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Spanish model Georgina Rodriguez in the last decade of September 2023 has shared an inside look at a private jet as she stunned fans in a short white dress. (Photo by @georginagio/Instagram)