Robert Galvan, who is on death row for murder, speaks to members of the media at the Adjustment Center yard during a media tour of California's Death Row at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California December 29, 2015. America's most populous state, which has not carried out an execution in a decade, begins 2016 at a pivotal juncture, as legal developments hasten the march toward resuming executions, while opponents seek to end the death penalty at the ballot box. (Photo by Stephen Lam/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.

Protester Nadine Wolf demonstrates against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) outside the offices of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) on January 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A participant of the “Zombie Takeover of Coney Island” acts like a zombie as he walks along Surf Avenue in Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York, July 2, 2014. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/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 wildfire on the Scottish island in the first decade of April 2025. Fire services are calling on people to act responsibly after an “extreme” wildfire warning was issued for the whole of Scotland. (Photo by Police Scotland/PA Wire)

Artist German Vinogradov acts in the performance of the burning of Maslenitsa tower, devoted to Pancake Week, a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in the village of Nikola-Lenivets, Kaluga region, Russia, February 25, 2017. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Artist German Vinogradov acts in the performance of the burning of installation, devoted to Maslenitsa, or Pancake Week, a pagan holiday marking the end of winter, in the village of Nikola-Lenivets, Kaluga region, Russia, February 17, 2018. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)