Marine biologist Simon Pierce, who studies whale sharks, happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture amazing photo off Cancun, Mexico. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Mercury Press/Caters News)

Iberian lynx Mistral jumps in a field after being released by Portugal's Minister of Environment Joao Matos Fernandes (unseen) and others in the Mount Milhouro (Herdade da Cela) region in Mertola, Portugal, 13 May 2016. Mistralis the 18th lynx bred in captivity released since late 2014. (Photo by Nuno Veiga/EPA)

A contestant on the 28th season of The Bachelor Kelsey Anderson hangs out at the Gallery Desert House with PATRÓN EL ALTO during Stagecoach on Friday, April 25, 2025. (Photo by Angel Montalvo)

Young man making the O.K. sign. (Photo by George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images). Circa 1950s

Humanoid robot bartender “Carl” interacts with guests at the Robots Bar and Lounge in the eastern German town of Ilmenau, July 26, 2013. “Carl”, developed and built by mechatronics engineer Ben Schaefer who runs a company for humanoid robots, prepares spirits for the mixing of cocktails and is able to interact with customers in small conversations. (Photo by Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)

Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller speaks about the new iPhone 4s at the company's headquarters October 4, 2011 in Cupertino, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

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.

“Sperm whale opening it's huge mouth, Ogasawara Islands, Japan. Sperm whales are the biggest carnivorous animals on the planet. Each teeth in the mouth of adult specimen weights more than 1 kilogram. Interestingly enough that modern marine biologists believe that these teeth despite being fearsome play little role in capturing and eating giant squid – with their main function being mainly ritual aggression between males!”. (Photo by Alexander Safonov)