A woman writes a get well message to former President Donald Trump during a prayer vigil hosted by Turning Point Action near the venue for the Republican National Convention (RNC), at Zeidler Union Square in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 14, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)

A Russian female military cadet marches in front of the Eternal Flame at the WWII memorial complex at Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow on February 17, 2021, during a rehearsal for the upcoming February 23's Defender of the Fatherland Day. (Photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP Photo)

A local resident dressed as Yamraj or Hindu god of death, wearing a novel coronavirus-themed balloon necklace, gestures as he poses during an awareness about social distancing and staying at home organised by Delhi police during a nationwide lockdown to slow the spreading of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, April 28, 2020. (Photo by Adnan Abidi/Reuters)

Tao Xiangli gets out of his homemade submarine after operating it in a lake on the outskirts of Beijing September 3, 2009. Amateur inventor Tao, 34, made a fully functional submarine, which has a periscope, depth control tanks, electric motors, manometer, and two propellers, from old oil barrels and tools which he bought at a second-hand market. He took 2 years to invent and test the submarine which costs 30,000 yuan ($4,385). (Photo by Christina Hu/Reuters)

A model presents a creation by Moroccan designer Fadila El Gadi during a fashion show in Rabat on May 30, 2023. (Photo by Fadel Senna/AFP Photo)

Palestinians drive classic cars during a gathering organized by the Bethlehem municipality near the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on October 17, 2025. (Photo by Mussa Qawasma/Reuters)

A firefighter uses a saw to open a metal gate while fighting a fire in a convenience store and residence during clashes after the funeral of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland in the early morning hours of April 28, 2015. (Photo by Eric Thayer/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.