A model wears a face mask to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, designed by Iraqi designer Ziad Tariq at his workshop in Basra, Iraq, Monday, July 20, 2020. (Photo by Nabil al-Jurani/AP Photo)

Manchester United goalkeeper Emily Ramsey celebrates with team mates Millie Turner and Jackie Groenen after winning the penalty shoot out at the FA Women's Continental League Cup match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Leigh Sports Village on November 19, 2020 in Leigh, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Visionhaus)

Shiite Muslim devotees reach to receive a blessing from the tomb of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, at the Imam's shrine in Iraq's central holy city of Karbala on September 6, 2023, during the Arbaeen religious festival commemorating his seventh century killing. (Photo by Hussein Faleh/AFP Photo)

A woman walks depicting a scene from the Iranian national epic poem “Shahnameh” in Tehran on August 5, 2025. (Photo by Atta Kenare/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.

Performers of circus company Circa perform during a photocall for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Calton Hill on August 1, 2017 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. (Photo by Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian)

Wearing a satin and lastex top and a skirt made of fishnet Ann Evors, a Paramount player, poses for the cameramen on the beach, circa 1928. (Photo by Central Press)

A young exhibitor arrives with her kitten on a lead at the National Cat Club show at Crystal Palace, London. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 2nd December 1931