A kite is flown at a park during the ancient annual public picnic day, called Sizdeh Bedar, on the 13th and last day of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year holiday, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Photo by Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

A PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) activist with her body painted promotes veganism in Bangkok April 21, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A man takes a picture of the mural painted by the street artist Harry Greb depicting the Italian music composer Ennio Morricone, a day after the 91-year-old composer's death, on July 7, 2020 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)

Sage Colina holds Rhianna as she is prepared to be adopted from the Humane Society of Greater Miami on December 13, 2023 in Miami, Florida. The shelter is experiencing an overcrowding crisis, like many nationwide, with people releasing their family pets to animal shelters since they can no longer afford to take care of them, after the high cost of pet care and the expense of veterinarian services, among other reasons. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Artists perform during the press photocall for the show “LUZIA” of Cirque du Soleil at Royal Albert Hall on January 11, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

A drag performer dances at the end of the “Rally for Our Rights”, ahead of the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, outside the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S., April 2, 2023. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

An “asparagus eating contest” made of asparagus and carved pumpkins is on display on the sidelines of the Giant Vegetable Competition in Klaistow, northeastern Germany, on September 20, 2015. The vegetable giants compete in seven categories. (Photo by Bernd Settnik/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.