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.

Molly Swindall, 30, who travelled from the United States to meet Moo Deng for the third time, reacts as she takes a selfie with the one-year-old female pygmy hippo, who became a viral internet sensation last year, and her mother Jona, at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Chonburi province, Thailand, on July 10, 2025. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

FUWACHAN and Saya Kamitani compete during the Women's Pro-Wrestling “Stardom” at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi on October 23, 2022 in Tachikawa, Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)

A man walks past kelp as he goes for a swim in the Pacific Ocean at La Jolla Shores, Thursday, July 24, 2025, in San Diego. (Photo by Gregory Bull/AP Photo)

This shot, which was announced the winner by the on December 2, 2022 came top in the People and Nature category of the British Ecological Society’s Capturing Ecology photography competition. (Photo by British Ecological Society)

The American skier Lindsey Vonn celebrates winning the women’s downhill race in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup on December 12, 2025. She is joined on the podium by Moritz, the competition’s official mascot, named after the Swiss resort in which it is held. (Photo by Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

A man passes by an unfinished street art graffiti made in a stairway by French street artists Zag and Sia in Paris on March 1, 2016. The two artists drew inspiration from famous “Liberty Leading the People” (La Liberte guidant le peuple) painting by French Eugene Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 and viewed as a symbol of the French Republic. (Photo by Joel Saget/AFP Photo)

A model presents a creation from the Christian Siriano Spring/Summer 2022 collection during New York Fashion Week at Gotham Hall in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 7, 2021. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)