Tommy Liberto, known as Mr. Christmas Tree, crosses Seventh Avenue while visiting New York for the tenth year from Bel Air, Md., Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)

The container ship NCL Salten ran aground at Byneset, outside Trondheim, Norway. A man in Norway woke up to find a massive container ship in his front garden. The 135-metre (443-foot) vessel missed Johan Helberg's house by a few metres at around 5am local time on Thursday, May 22, 2025 in Byneset, near Trondheim. Mr. Helberg was only made aware of the incident after his panicked neighbour, who had seen the ship heading straight for shore, repeatedly rang his doorbell and eventually called him on the phone. (Photo by South West News Service)

Actor Lorenzo Lamas and girlfriend Shawna Craig arrives at the showcase unveiling of “Cosmic Harley” a one of a kind $1,000,000 Harley Davidson designed by artist Jack Armstrong at the Harley Davidson showrooms on October 21, 2010 in Marina del Rey, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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.

Enigmatic Italian forward Mario Balotelli is always good for drama, so Fanny Neguesha is perfect for him. With her racy Instagram shots and wild ways, she might be the one to tame Super Mario’s heart. The couple was engaged to marry this week. (Photo by Splash News/Getty Images/Instagram.com)

David Bowie wears an eyepatch in red suit and guitar on blue background at Top Pop television studios in Holland while doing playback to his hit song Rebel Rebel in 1974. (Photo by Barry Schultz/Sunshine/REX Shutterstock)

Ivan Shamyanok, 90, shaves in his house in the village of Tulgovichi, near the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, Belarus March 15, 2016. “My sister lived here with her husband. They decided to leave and soon enough they were in the ground ... They died from anxiety. I'm not anxious. I sing a little, take a turn in the yard, take things slowly like this and I live”, he said. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Joy Corrigan is seen on June 24, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The 26-year-old American supermodel wore a peach bra and matching shorts with a bright yellow handbag in LA for the Alo Yoga do. (Photo by The Mega Agency)