Tara Davis-Woodhall of the United States in action during the women's long jump final at the World Athletics Championships at the National Stadium in Tokyo on September 14, 2025. (Photo by Issei Kato/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.

This artist image released from Japan's airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) on April 17, 2015 shows ANA's Boeing 787-9 aircraft into the colors of R2-D2 robot of Star Wars. Japanese air carrier ANA will place the special colored jetliner in service in this autumn. (Photo by AFP Photo/All Nippon Airways)

Nikki Laird poses ahead of the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour at Coolangatta Beach on March 12, 2021 in Coolangatta, Australia. (Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)

Baylor's DiJonai Carrington shoots past UConn's Paige Bueckers during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Elite Eight round of the Women's NCAA tournament Monday, March 29, 2021, at the Alamodome in San Antonio. (Photo by Morry Gash/AP Photo)

Liusba Grajales, left, puts makeup on her daughter Ainhoa as her partner Lisset Diaz Vallejo gets ready as they prepare to get married in Santa Clara, Cuba, Friday, October 21, 2022. The couple, which has been together for seven years, is one of the first to make the decision to get legally married in Cuba following the new Family Code, which opened up everything from equal marriage to surrogate mothers. (Photo by Ismael Francisco/AP Photo)

Coco Gauff's hand during her second round Australian Open match against Emma Raducanu at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia on January 18, 2023. (Photo by Hannah Mckay/Reuters)

A woman wearing traditional clothes reacts as men throw water at her during a traditional Easter celebration in Holloko, Hungary on April 10, 2023. (Photo by Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)