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.

American singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal at the PatBo show on September 15, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Bre Johnson/BFA.com)

A British soldier from 3 Commando Brigade looks through the sight of his sniper rifle at Camp Gibraltar February 24, 2003 near Kuwait City, Kuwait. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego, and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans.

Photo: Comic-Con International: San Diego 2012. (Photo by Eddric Lee)

Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast, England on March 30, 2020. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images)

An elderly man uses a fan to shade himself from the sun as he walks in a public park in Beijing, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. Thursday marks the Duanwu Festival, a public holiday in China celebrated with outdoor activities including dragon boat races. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Without bothering Jung and its "Puer aeternus" or Pascoli with its "Little Boy", we can certainly agree that, somewhere inside each of us, there's a young core, instinctive, creative but also innocent and naïve. What would happen if this intimate essence would be completely revealed?

Imogen Bankier of Scotland (L) and Chris Adcock of England in action during their round one mixed doubles match in the Yonex All England Badminton Open Championship on March 9, 2011 in Birmingham, England.