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.

“BASE jumping, also sometimes written as B.A.S.E jumping, is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects. “B.A.S.E.” is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antennas, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs)”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Felix Baumgartner, world-renowned B.A.S.E jumper, is pictured in this undated handout photo. Baumgartner will attempt the first unpowered crossing of the strait between England and France. (Photo by Red Bull via Getty Images)

In this file photo taken on Sunday, August 2, 2020, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, candidate for the presidential elections greets people waving old Belarus flags during a meeting to show her support, in Brest, 326 km (203,7 miles) southwest of Minsk, Belarus. Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko faces a perfect storm as he seeks a sixth term in the election held Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020 after 26 years in office. Mounting public discontent over the worsening economy and his government’s bungled handling of the coronavirus pandemic has fueled the largest opposition rallies since the Soviet collapse. (Photo by Sergei Grits/AP Photo)

A model wears a dress made out of recycled material during a show organised by LGBT fashion designers to battles discrimination in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, October 24, 2018. (Photo by Samrang Pring/Reuters)

French photographer and director Romain Laurent started making portrait-based GIFs as a way to produce work outside his commercial jobs, a spontaneous project that would encourage him to produce consistently for himself rather than clients.

People pose for a photo with certificates after swimming in the ocean for the 121st annual Coney Island Polar Bear Club's New Year's Day plunge at Coney Island beach in the Brooklyn borough of New York, New York, USA, 01 January 2024. (Photo by Sarah Yenesel/EPA)

Russian servicemen look on as a Mi-24 helicopter fly overhead during the Open Water competition for pontoon bridge units, as part of the International Army Games 2018, outside Murom, Russia August 3, 2018. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

A couple walk in the Retiro park in Madrid on November 17, 2020 as a thick fog falls on the Spanish capital. (Photo by Gabriel Bouys/AFP Photo)