People watch as Secretary of State Antony Blinken's motorcade moves through Kinshasa, Congo, Tuesday, August 9, 2022. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Pool via AP Photo)

A police officer fires tear gas at protesters after the presidential election results were announced in Kisumu, Kenya on August 15, 2022. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)

An actor, playing the role of Jesus Christ, is whipped by a Roman soldier as he falls during a Way of the Cross reenactment, as part of Holy Week celebrations, in Atyra, Paraguay, Friday, March 29, 2024. Holy Week commemorates the last week of Jesus' earthly life which culminates with his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (Photo by Jorge Saenz/AP Photo)

Emily clement, 9, left, and her sister, Mallory, 9, pick strawberries together at the Trunnell's Farm Market strawberry field, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Owensboro, Ky. (Photo by USA Today)

This image released by Twentieth Century Fox shows Kristen Stewart in a scene from “Underwater”. (Photo by Alan Markfield/Twentieth Century Fox via AP Photo)

Poland's Piotr Lisek celebrates after winning in the Men's pole vault during the IAAF Diamond League competition on July 12, 2019 in Monaco. (Photo by Eric Gaillard/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.

Tourists ice skate at night on the Eiffel Tower's skating rink in Paris December 9, 2014. The skating rink, located on the first level of the Eiffel Tower, opens to the public as part of the Christmas holiday season. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)