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.

Members of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) demonstrate their skills on motor-bikes during the BSF Golden Jubilee Day celebration in New Delhi on December 1, 2015. (Photo by Money Sharma/AFP Photo)

A man photographs “Mount Recyclemore”, an artwork depicting the G7 leaders looking towards Carbis Bay, made from electronic waste by Joe Rush and Alex Wreckage, ahead of the G7 summit, at Hayle Towans in Cornwall, Britain, June 8, 2021. (Photo by Tom Nicholson/Reuters)

Team China performs during the team free routine artistic swimming competition at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Sunday, October 8, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

Zoi Karangelou of Greece compete in the Women's Solo Technical final on day one of World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final 2025 at Xi'an Olympic Sports Centre on June 13, 2025 in Xi An, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Colombia's goalkeeper #01 Catalina Perez (R) makes a save during the Australia and New Zealand 2023 Women's World Cup Group H football match between Colombia and South Korea at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney on July 25, 2023. (Photo by Franck Fife/AFP Photo)

In this handout image supplied by Qatar 2022 The Al-Rayyan stadium is pictured in this artists impression as Qatar 2022 World Cup bid unveils it's stadiums on September 16, 2010 in Doha, Qatar. It has been designed to include a “media facade” that includes a membrane that acts as a screen for projections; news, commercials, sports updates and current tournament information and matches. (Photo by Qatar 2022 via Getty Images)

Workers sleep on a railway track under repair in New Delhi, India, June 15, 2018. (Photo by Saumya Khandelwal/Reuters)