Clutching a large paper bag and shading his eyes as he peers ahead, comic actor of the silent screen, Buster Keaton (1885–1966) arriving at Paris airport. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1st August 1947

Dinosaur costumed actors representing Thailand's establishment at a high school student led protest in Bangkok, Thailand on November 21, 2020. (Photo by Matthew Tostevin/Reuters)

Actors Timothee Chalamet, Monica Barbaro and Elle Fanning attend a premiere of the film “A Complete Unknown” at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on December 11, 2024. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Actors perform a scene in a film directed by Humam Husari in the rebel-held besieged town of Zamalka, in the Damascus suburbs, Syria September 19, 2016. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

American actress Sarah Hyland at arrivals for 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards – Part 2, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA January 19, 2020. (Photo by Monica Almeida/Reuters)

An Indian visitor sits on a bike with the wax statue of American actor Tom Cruise at the Madame Tussauds Delhi in New Delhi, India on June 6, 2018. (Photo by Money Sharma/AFP 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.

(L-R) Actors Oscar Sinela, Luis Fernandez, Ursula Corbero, Amaia Salamanca, Maxi Iglesias and Alba Ribas attend “XP3D” premiere at the Callao cinema on December 27, 2011 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)