A diving competitor during a practice session at Tokyo Aquatics Centre ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. (Photo by Stefan Wermuth/Reuters)

Switzerland's cyclist Marlen Reusser reacts after placing second in the women' elite time trial race of the UCI World Championships Road Cycling Flanders 2021, in Bruges, on September 20, 2021. UCI World Championships Road Cycling Flanders 2021 takes place from September 19 until September 26, 2021, in several cities in the Belgian region of Flanders. (Photo by Simon Wilkinson/BELGA via AFP Photo)

YouTube personality Jake Paul (L) fights former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on December 18, 2021. (Photo by Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports)

Rome marks 74th Festa della Repubblica on 2 June 2020. Italy's celebrate the national day, Festa della Repubblica in 2020 with the events for the 74th edition of Republic Day reduced due to the covid-19 crisis. The Frecce Tricolori, the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Air Force, popular aeronautical display featuring fighter jets, fly in formation over the centre of Rome, emitting plumes of the three colours from the Italian flag. (Photo by Giuseppe Pino Fama/Pacific Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Runners compete in the women's 300-meter steeplechase finals during the U.S. Championships athletics meet in Eugene, Ore.,Saturday, August 2, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Landis/AP Photo)

“Kissing Booth” star Joey King (in blue wig) and “Game of Thrones” alum Maisie Williams laugh it up while enjoying a night on the town full of shots and karaoke in the second decade of September 2025. (Photo by Joey King/Instagram)

Participants jump over a bonfire as they celebrate the Pagan holiday of Ivan Kupala, a traditional holiday that has been observed in Ukraine since pre-Christian times, in Kyiv, on June 23, 2024, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. (Photo by Anatolii Stepanov/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.