Shaymaa Ismaa’eel, a 24-year-old Muslim woman passes by a group of angry protesters at an Islamic conference in Washington, DC on April 21, 2019. In response, she crouched in front of them and flashed a peace sign. The photo, posted on Instagram, prompted an outpouring of support. (Photo by Shaymaa Ismaa'eel/Instagram)

Actors perform in a scene during the “Dino Safari” show in Tokyo, Japan, 25 April 2018. The Dino Safari show features dinosaurs moving in a realistic way thanks to the Dino-Tronics mechanism that enable the dinosaurs to walk, move their heads and jaws. The event will run from 26 April to 05 May 2018. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA/EFE)

Belarusian schoolchildren, who are members of a pro-government Young Pioneer movement, perform with drums as they take part in a meeting to mark the 95th anniversary of their organisation in Minsk, Belarus May 19, 2017. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

A vintage car sits in flood water on March 20, 2019 in Hamburg, Iowa. Although flood water in the town has started to recede many homes and businesses remain surrounded by water. Several Midwest states are battling some of the worst flooding they have experienced in decades as rain and snow melt from the recent “bomb cyclone” has inundated rivers and streams. At least three deaths have been linked to the flooding. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Migrant children play with leaves during Christmas Eve at a shelter, as they travel with their parents as part of a caravan with humanitarian visas to transit throughout the country, in Monterrey, Mexico on December 24, 2021. (Photo by Daniel Becerril/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.

Protesters throw fireworks at riot police during clashes in Nanterre, near Paris, France, 29 June 2023. Violence broke out after police fatally shot a 17-year-old during a traffic stop in Nanterre on 27 June 2023. According to the French interior minister, 31 people were arrested with 2,000 officers being deployed to prevent further violence. (Photo by Yoan Valat/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Children wearing bear fur costumes dance during a parade in Comanesti, Romania, Friday, December 30, 2022. In pre-Christian rural traditions, dancers wearing colored costumes or animal furs, toured from house to house in villages singing and dancing to ward off evil. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)