UK Love Island's Matilda Draper in the first decade of August 2024 left little to the imagination in plunging dress. (Photo by Instagram)

A child dressed in a Santa Claus costume reacts, on the day Palestinian Christians attend an Orthodox Christmas Mass at the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City on January 7, 2025. (Photo by Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)

The Chinese-flagged cargo ship Yu Zhou Qi Hang, which ran aground near Yehliu Geopark as a result of rough weather relating to typhoon Kong-rey, is seen in Yehliu on November 1, 2024. Taiwan on November 1 raced to remove 284 tonnes of oil from the Chinese carrier that ran aground off the island after losing power in rough seas as Typhoon Kong-rey neared. (Photo by I-Hwa Cheng/AFP Photo)

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.

Hillary Clinton waves to a selfie-taking crowd at a recent campaign event in Orlando, Florida on September 26, 2016. (Photo by Barbara Kinney/Hillary for America)

English fashion model Daisy Lowe seen at Christopher Kane at Tate Britain on Day 4 of London Fashion Week February 2017 on February 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by SAV/GC Images)

In this photograph taken on April 28, 2018, Afghan children work at a coal yard on the outskirts of Jalalabad, Afghanistan. (Photo by Noorullah Shirzada/AFP Photo)

British sprinter Dina Asher-Smith arrives at The Fashion Awards 2018 In Partnership With Swarovski at Royal Albert Hall on December 10, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/BFC/Mike Marsland/Getty Images)