Model Bella Hadid poses for photographers at the photo call for the film “Pain and Glory” at the 72nd international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2019. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP 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.

Disguised revellers parade on the occasion of the Cortege during the Carnival in Basel, Switzerland, February 17, 2016. (Photo by Georgios Kefalas/EPA)

A person carries a fan in Westminster, London, Britain, 12 July 2022. Britain has been issued with an amber weather warning for the weekend as experts predict that temperatures could rise to the high thirties and Sunday could be the hottest day on record for the UK. (Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A couple takes selfie pictures amid heart shaped decorations setted for Valentine's day, in Bangkok, Thailand on February 14, 2021. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

Horse archery competitor Kimberley Robertson with her horse Chiko at her home in Hirstglen, Queensland, Australia on April 9, 2024. (Photo by Aston Brown/The Guardian)

Model Rachel Pizzolato poses with a dog during the “The Pet Gala” at GH on the Park in New York City on May 19, 2025. The Pet Gala by Anthony Rubio designs recreates outfits from the Met Gala for pets. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his wife Ri Sol Ju and Song Tao, head of the International Department of Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, applaud with ballet dancers in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang April 17, 2018. (Photo by Reuters/KCNA)