A security man keeps guard during Malawi's President elect Arthur Peter Mutharika swearing in ceremony at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre on May 28, 2019, after a contentious election marred by allegations of fraud and vote-rigging. The Malawi Electoral Commission announced on Monday that Mutharika, who heads the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), had narrowly won last week's vote after an injunction barring the release of the results was lifted. (Photo by Amos Gumulira/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.

Farmers ride home on a tractor pulling an overloaded trailer full of straw in a village outside Faisalabad, Pakistan May 3, 2017. (Photo by Caren Firouz/Reuters)

A woman shouting into a megaphone during a “Kill the Bill” protest in Manchester City Centre on April 3, 2021 in Manchester, United Kingdom. Protests around the United Kingdom have been held in opposition to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. The proposed legislation, which would apply to England and Wales, covers a wide range of issues and would broaden the police's authority for regulating protests. (Photo by Mercury Press and Media)

It doesn’t make for the most flattering photoshoot, but there is a reason these zebras at Lewa wildlife conservancy in Kenya in the second decade of August 2025 are stood head to tail: they use their tails to swat flies from each others’ faces. (Photo by Andrew Campbell/Solent News & Photo Agency)

Dogs are seen at the 2021 Pawlidays celebration at Sofitel Hotel Los Angeles on December 18, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

A person walks past graffiti by arstist selfnamed El Primo de Bansky (the cousin of Bansky) of former Spanish King Juan Carlos in Valencia, Spain, 05 August 2020. The Spanish Royal Household has announced that Emeritus King Juan Carlos I has proclaimed his intended decision to move abroad so as to not interfere in the image of the Spanish monarchy due to his alleged implication in a Swiss offshore account investigation. (Photo by Biel Aliño/EPA/EFE)

Long Exposure pictures showing Mount Sinabung spewing out hot lava on August 2, 2017 in Karo, Indonesia. Sinabung located in North Sumatra Province roared back to life in 2010 for the first time in 400 years. After another period of inactivity it erupted once more in 2013, and has remained highly active since. (Photo by Albert Damanik/Barcroft Images)