Tightrope walker Tatian-Mosio Bongonga hangs from a tightrope as she pauses while scaling the Monmartre hill towards the Sacre Coeur Basilica (not pictured) in Paris, France, July 20, 2018. (Photo by Philippe Wojazer/Reuters)

Canberra resident Bruce Gibbons is seen surrounded by grazing kangaroos as he plays a shot during a session on a practice fairway at Gold Creek Golf Club in Canberra, Australia, May 16, 2017. (Photo by Lukas Coch/Reuters/AAP)

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, visible above Old Gardur Lighthouse on the northern point of the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland on Sunday, November 24, 2024. The lighthouse dates to 1897, and was one of the first built in Iceland. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images)

The “Summer House” season 7 premiere party at The Ready Rooftop in the second decade of February 2023. (Photo by Dan Nilson)

British model Demi Rose in the first decade of October 2023 posed by a rocky bay wearing beads and sea shells. (Photo by Instagram)

American actress Vanessa Hudgens attends Beyoncé's “Renaissance” concert in Los Angeles on September 4, 2023. (Photo by vanessahudgens/Instagram)

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.