Women take selfies as they wait for the subway at Penn Station, New York, December 26, 2023. (Photo by Charly Triballeau/AFP Photo)

People watch waves crash over the sea wall in Revere, Massachusetts on January 13, 2024. The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is reminding residents of the possibility of flooding in low-lying areas and streets as a third storm in a week batters the state. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/AFP Photo)

A Palestinian sits among the rubble of buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Hatem Khaled/Reuters)

Costume details featuring Joao Candido, a black sailor who led a revolt against the physical punishment of Brazilian Navy soldiers at the beginning of the 20th century, lie inside the Paraíso do Tuiuti Samba school at the Samba City complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, January 16, 2024. Samba schools are gearing up for this year's Carnival, scheduled from Feb. 9-17. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

Bikini Contest in Daytona Beach, Florida’s Atlantic coast, circa 1980s. (Photo by Evan Hurd/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

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.

Cute sеxy caucasian brunette young woman dressed as Mrs. Santa Claus, smiling with joy, biting a candy cane with eyes closed, Christmas or New Years Eve 2022 concept. (Photo by Cryptographer/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Anna Malova, Miss Russia 1998, poses on a pool table at The Campbell Apartment restaurant in Grand Central Station on November 18, 1999. She makes her motion picture debut in the movie “Above Ground”. (Photo by Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)