A “nail house”, the last building in the area, sits in the middle of a road under construction in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region April 10, 2015. According to local media, the owner of the house didn't reach an agreement with the local authority about compensation of the demolition. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

English fashion model Daisy Lowe attends day ten of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 11, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Paul Edwards/The Sun)

President Donald Trump is reflected in a mirror as he and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman walk along the White House Colonnade on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. The crown prince was welcomed to the White House with all the trappings of a state visit, including a black-tie dinner in the East Room. (Photo by Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

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.

Dayane Mello attends the photocall for the television miniseries “The Young Pope” at the 73rd Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, September 3, 2016. (Photo by Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters)

An octopus is filmed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ship Okeanos Explorer and its robotic sub. (Photo by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

American singer and songwriter Ava Max gestures as she arrives at the 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 27, 2021. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

A person dressed as a zombie mermaid poses for a photo as she interacts with patrons at the Haunted Hotel Takeover Halloween party at hotel Ziggy in West Hollywood, California, U.S., October 29, 2022. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)