Change, 26, who is non-binary, poses next to their friend wearing pink, rainbow-decorated boots at the Pink Dot Rally in Singapore on June 24, 2023. (Photo by Edgar Su/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.

A scavenger sifts through garbage piled on the bank of Beirut river, Lebanon August 24, 2015. Lebanese protest organisers called for a fresh demonstration against the government on Saturday after two days of rallies that turned violent in central Beirut and wounded scores of people. The “You Stink” campaign has mobilised against the government's failure to solve a garbage disposal crisis, bringing thousands of people onto the streets in protests that have threatened the survival of the cabinet. (Photo by Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)

A member of the Qinghai Acrobatic Troupe checks her hair with a smartphone during a media preview for the world premiere of cabaret show “Shanghai Mimi” as part of Sydney Festival in Chinatown, central Sydney, Australia, 08 January 2019. Sydney Festival 2019 runs from 09 to 27 January and will feature theatre, dance, circus, music, visual arts and talks from international and local artists. (Photo by Steven Saphore/EPA/EFE)

Pennsylvania's wildlife agency, firefighters and police use a large blue tarp to capture a wayward black bear as it falls from a tree Tuesday, June 4, 2024 in Camp Hill, Pa. (Photo by Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP Photo)

Astronauts Harrison Schmitt (left) and Eugene Andrew Cernan practice taking geological samples at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in preparation for NASA's scheduled Apollo 17 lunar landing mission, on August 28, 1972. Schmitt is the Lunar Module Pilot and Cernan is the mission's Commander. They are training for their period of EVA (extravehicular activity) on the Moon. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

An endangered baby turtle hatched from its egg in its nest on the Belek coast, is trying to reach the open sea by walking along the beach in Antalya, Turkiye on August 05, 2025. In the Belek and Kizilot region, one of the largest nesting areas in the Mediterranean, many baby turtles continue to meet the sea. (Photo by Tahsin Ceylan/Anadolu via Getty Images)

American rapper and songwriter Lil' Kim performs as she presents a creation from The Blonds Autumn/Winter 2019 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York, U.S. on February 12, 2019. (Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters)