Urte Baikstyte, of Lithuania, fails an attempt in the Women High Jump qualification at the European Athletics Indoor Championships at Atakoy Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, March 2, 2023. (Photo by Khalil Hamra/AP Photo)

Two young women jump into a pool on the beach on June 20, 2025 in Margate, United Kingdom. Yellow heat health alerts have been issued by the Met Office with temperatures set to climb as high as 33°C by the weekend. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Francis Sierra, 23, smokes as she competes for the longest ash during the XVIII Habanos Festival in Havana, March 3, 2016. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

Actress/Model Emily Ratajkowski's celebrates her 25th birthday at the private residence of Absolut Elyx CEO Jonas Tahlin on June 10, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Absolut Elyx)

Activists from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) demonstrate with slogans in protest of the designers use of fur, during the Paris Fashion Week, in front of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, France, September 25, 2018. Placards read: “For a Fashion Week without fur”. (Photo by Benoit Tessier/Reuters)

A couple sit on the terrase of a cafe in Istanbul as seagulls fly over them on September 10, 2019. (Photo by Ozan Kose/AFP Photo)

A hot air balloon rises in the sky during the International Hot-Air Balloon festival in Pokhara on December 27, 2024. With Nepal's snowy Himalayan peaks as a backdrop, the sky above Pokhara transformed into a vibrant canvas of colours for the country's first hot-air balloon festival. (Photo by Prakash Mathema/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.