Visitors pose for a picture next to a mallard duck on the cobblestones of St Peter's Square with St Peter's Basilica in the background at The Vatican, on May 5, 2025. (Photo by Alberto Pizzoli/AFP Photo)

A woman carries a heavy load on her head while walking along the narrow Kilo ZeroKilo 30 road near Bentiu in Unity State, South Sudan, on November 6, 2025. The eroded and flood-affected road compels residents to travel long distances on foot to access supplies in Bentiu and Rubkona. (Photo by Rian Cope/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.

Thailand’s Sanctuary of Truth is an all-wood building filled with sculptures based on traditional Buddhist and Hindu motifs. It is covered in intricate wood carvings, meant to depict complex ideas about ancient thought, human responsibility, and the cycle of life. (Photo by Yury Taranik/Getty Inages)

Blankets cover the bodies of a woman (right) and a man (left background) hit by a northbound Penn Central train (background) as they waited with a crowd at Pennsylvania Railroad station in Elizabeth, N.J. on June 8, 1968 to view the southbound train carrying the body of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy to Washington. The woman was identified as Mrs. Antoinette Severini, 54, and the man, John Curia (age unavailable), both of Elizabeth. (Photo by AP Photo)

Participants of the 79th edition of the annual Christmas swimming “Coupe de Noel” jump into the Lake Geneva, in Geneva, Switzerland, Sunday, December 17, 2017. More than 2000 men and women swam the 120 meters at the traditional Christmas swimming in Geneva where the water temperature was 6 degrees. (Photo by Martial Trezzini/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Tandem hair drying is possible with a new two-hood attachment for any electric hair dryer manufactured by Postcraft Co of Tucson, Ariz., shown in Chicago, January 27, 1965. A Y adapter permits two hoses to be attached to the dryer. (Photo by Edward Kitch/AP Photo)