A Haitian woman lies in a trance during a voodoo ceremony in Souvenance, a suburb of Gonaives, 171 km north of Port- au- Prince, on April 16, 2017. Haitian voodoo followers arrived in Souvenance to take part in the voodoo ceremonies held during Easter weekend. (Photo by Hector Retamal/AFP Photo)

Oscar-winning directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known collectively as the Daniels, march with Writers Guild of America members outside Sunset Bronson Studios and Netflix Studios, after union negotiators called a strike for film and television writers, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 3, 2023. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

A Palestinian sits among the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Hatem Khaled/Reuters)

Belgium's Crown Princess Elisabeth, center, marches past the Royal tribune with cadets of the military school during the National Day parade in Brussels, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Belgium celebrates its National Day on Wednesday in a scaled down version due to coronavirus, COVID-19 measures. (Photo by Olivier Matthys/AP Photo)

Rajesh Babu, a police officer, wearing a helmet depicting coronavirus, requests a commuter to stay at home during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to limit the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Chennai, India, March 28, 2020. (Photo by P. Ravikumar/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.

Prince Dudeman stands on Ryan Thor's head at the 14th annual Helen Woodward Animal Center “Surf-A-Thon” where more than 70 dogs competed in five different weight classes for “Top Surf Dog 2019” in Del Mar, California, U.S., September 8, 2019. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

In this combination image visitors to the London Super Comic Convention dress as their favourite Marvel comic characters at ExCel on February 25, 2012 in London, England. Visitors to the Comic Convention are encouraged to wear a costume of their favourite character. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)