People are captured by FLIR (Forward-Looking Infrared) HD Thermal Imaging Cameras as they walk near the FLIR exhibit at the Las Vegas Convention Center during CES 2019 in Las Vegas on January 10, 2019. (Photo by David McNew/AFP Photo)

People look at huge waves crashing on the San Esteban de Pravia seafront, northern Spanish region of Asturias February 8, 2016. (Photo by Eloy Alonso/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.

Dance artist HorsegiirL poses at the BRIT Awards at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, on March 1, 2025. (Photo Isabel Infantesby/Reuters)

Participants wearing colorful costumes take part in the Flowers Parade of the 151th annual Carnival of Nice, in Nice, France, 20 March 2024. The annual Carnival of Nice run from 17 February to 03 March 2024, and the main theme will be “King of Pop Culture”. (Photo by Sebastien Nogier/EPA)

A fight between two female musk oxen, Norway, 2021. The image was captured in Norway’s Dovrefjell national park, where the musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) was reintroduced several years ago for its conservation. It is normal for males of this species to engage in fierce battles during the mating season but unusual for two females. (Photo by Miquel Angel Artús Illana)

Participants from a North Korea military band perform during the Spasskaya Tower international military music festival in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Friday, August 23, 2019. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo)

Majesty Davis, 3, cries while visiting Santa Claus, who sits behind a plexiglass divider due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at the Willow Grove Park Mall in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, U.S. November 14, 2020. (Photo by Mark Makela/Reuters)