Emma the Maltese's fur blows in the wind as she rides in her owner's purse on 5th Avenue at Central Park in New York December 2, 2014. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Jamaica's Tissanna Hickling competes in the women's long jump qualification during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on August 19, 2023. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP Photo)

USA's Valarie Allman competes in the women's discus throw final during the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on July 20, 2022. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP Photo)

USA's Katie Moon competes in the Women's Pole Vault final during the Indoor World Athletics Championships in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 2, 2024. (Photo by François-Xavier Marit/AFP Photo)

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.

Wildlife officials carry away the carcass of a turtle that was washed ashore at the beach of Angulana, south of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo on June 24, 2021. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

Australia's Nicholas Timmings competes in the men's Skeleton World Cup in Altenberg, eastern Germany, on December 3, 2021. (Photo by Tobias Schwarz/AFP Photo)

Poland's Piotr Lisek celebrates after winning in the Men's pole vault during the IAAF Diamond League competition on July 12, 2019 in Monaco. (Photo by Eric Gaillard/Reuters)