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.

Plumes of smoke rise from the snow covered volcano Villarrica, in Pucon, Chile on December 7, 2023. (Photo by Cristobal Saavedra Escobar/Reuters)

Attendees look at Volkswagen's BUDD-e, a long distance electric vehicle, displayed during a press event at CES 2016 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on January 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs from January 6-9 and is expected to feature 3,600 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 150,000 attendees. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

In this picture taken on November 28, 2016, a hot-air balloon carrying tourists sails over the archeological site at sunrise in Bagan. Located in central Myanmar, Bagan is home to more than 2,000 ancient Buddhist monuments deeply revered in the Buddhist-majority nation and is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. (Photo by Dale De La Rey/AFP Photo)

Irish dancer Holly Venables on day three of the Cheltenham Racing Festival at Prestbury Park in Cheltenham, England on March 13, 2025. (Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile)

A highland cow in Purbeck, Dorset shows off for the camera in the second decade of February 2023. (Photo by Kate Fry/Bournemouth News)

Residents look at an injured wild elephant walking outside their house in a village near Amchang wildlife sanctuary on the outskirts of Guwahati, Saturday, August 9, 2025. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

English-Albanian singer and songwriter Dua Lipa on December 31, 2022. The “One Kiss” singer went full Y2K to usher in 2023, wearing a crystal mesh Ludovic de Saint Sernin dress with a back so low, Lipa’s white thong played peekaboo. (Photo by dualipa/Instagram)