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 labourer rides a donkey cart through a flooded street after heavy monsoon rains in Lahore on August 20, 2020. (Photo by Arif Ali/AFP Photo)

Forest guards chase away a rhino that strayed into a residential area after floods forced animals to escape the Kaziranga National park in Nagaon district, in the northeastern state of Assam, August 15, 2017. (Photo by Anuwar Hazarika/Reuters)

Hungary's athlete Anna Toth receives help after a fall in the women's 100m hurdles semifinal during the European Athletics Championships at the Olympic stadium in Rome on June 8, 2024. (Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP Photo)

A diver dressed as “Mermaid of the Serpent Depths” performs in front of a sign marking the Lunar New Year of the Snake inside an aquarium at Manila Ocean Park on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Jam Sta Rosa/AFP Photo)

A child applies make-up as a mimic while asking for alms from passers-by at a market area ahead of the festival of Diwali in New Delhi on October 22, 2022. (Photo by Sajjad Hussain/AFP Photo)

A man in a mock space suit experiences walking in space at “Mars Base 1 Camp” on May 15, 2023 in Jinchang, Gansu Province of China. The simulated Mars base allows visitors to immerse themselves in the Mars experience. (Photo by Li Yalong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

Czechia's Karolina Muchova plays a shot between her legs to Italy's Jasmine Paolini during their quarterfinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Australia, Friday, January 3, 2025. (Photo by Rick Rycroft/AP Photo)