Ecuador President Daniel Noboa and his wife Lavinia Valbonesi arrive for the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. January 20, 2025. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/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.

In this September 30, 2017 photo, people perform “transvestite target practice” to protest the killings of transvestite prostitutes during the annual LGBQT march in Asuncion, Paraguay. Advocacy groups fear the stigma and attacks against the LGBQT community could get worse now that the country's education minister has banned classes about sexual diversity in schools and even volunteered to help burn all books related to the subject. (Photo by Jorge Saenz/AP Photo)

An Afghan boy jumps off the turret of a Soviet tank on a hilltop on the the outskirts of Kabul, Sunday, March, 4, 2018. (Photo by Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

Samantha Bailey takes a selfie with a staff member dressed like a raptor at the Jurassic Quest drive-thru Experience outside The Rose Bowl Stadium during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Pasadena, California, U.S., January 15, 2021. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Seth Moniz and Kelly Slater, of the United States, embrace after Slater won the Billabong Pro Pipeline contest just short of his 50th birthday in Haleiwa, Hawaii, US on February 5, 2022. (Photo by Brent Bielmann/World Surf League via AP Photo)

Performers dressed as zombies arrive to the pier of the Excelsior Hotel on September 6, 2021 during the 78th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido. (Photo by Yara Nardi/Reuters)

The picture dated May 14, 2025 shows the RAF Typhoon display pilot, Squadron Leader Nathan Shawyer, who has now completed his Public Display Authorisation, rehearsing over RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, UK ahead of this year's airshows. The RAF Typhoon display team will be participating in several airshows this year, including the Midlands Air Festival on May 30 and the English Riviera Airshow in Paignton Devon on May 31. (Photo by Claire Hartley/Bav Media)