A woman carries portraits of Red Army soldiers during the celebrations of Victory Day, which marks the 78th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters)

An anti-lockdown activist dressed as Father Christmas is arrested in Grosvenor Square during a demonstration in London, England, on November 28, 2020. London is to return to “Tier 2” or “high alert” covid-19 restrictions once the current England-wide coronavirus lockdown ends next Wednesday. All three of the tiers, assigned to local authorities across England, have been strengthened since the lockdown began on November 5, however, with the main impacts to be felt by the hospitality sector. (Photo by Mark Thomas/i-Images)

Raining on their New Year's Eve parade. Revellers in Leeds, United Kingdom get ready ready for the new year on December 31, 2022. (Photo by Nb press ltd)

Hyper realistic flesh-like objects created by Masataka Shishido, also known as DJ Doooo, are displayed at his home, during a photo opportunity in Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Japan on January 26, 2023. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/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.

Villagers cry for their relatives who were killed in an earthquake during a funeral in Longmen village, in Lushan county in southwest China's Sichuan province, on April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of the area after an earthquake left at least 180 people dead and more than 11,000 injured. (Photo by Associated Press)

Bigfoot Fastrax crushes cars during the monster truck rally at Anaheim Stadium in 1989 in Anaheim, California. Photo by: Tim Defrisco/Getty Images

Competitor Isaiah Webb attends the 2017 Remington Beard Boss World Beard & Moustache Championships held at the Long Center for the Performing Arts on September 3, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Brian Cahn/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)