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.

Bigfoot Fastrax crushes cars during the monster truck rally at Anaheim Stadium in 1989 in Anaheim, California. Photo by: Tim Defrisco/Getty Images

A local resident helps free a car that became stranded in a stretch of flooding road as Tropical Storm Helene strikes, on the outskirts of Boone, North Carolina, U.S. September 27, 2024. (Photo by Jonathan Drake/Reuters)

American singer-songwriter Grace VanderWaal at the PatBo show on September 15, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Bre Johnson/BFA.com)

Cosplayers take a break from the convention to check their phones and get coffee during “Anime Boston 2024” at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 30, 2024. The convention is organized by the New England Anime Society and celebrates all things Japanese animation, comics and popular culture. (Photo by Joseph Prezioso/AFP Photo)

A giant panda cub falls from the stage while 23 giant pandas born in 2016 seen on a display at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, September 29, 2016. (Photo by Rex Features)

An elderly man uses a fan to shade himself from the sun as he walks in a public park in Beijing, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. Thursday marks the Duanwu Festival, a public holiday in China celebrated with outdoor activities including dragon boat races. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Imogen Bankier of Scotland (L) and Chris Adcock of England in action during their round one mixed doubles match in the Yonex All England Badminton Open Championship on March 9, 2011 in Birmingham, England.