People watch as leaflets dropped by the Israeli military, urging evacuation south to al-Mawasi, land in Gaza City on September 9, 2025. The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it will act with “greater force” in Gaza City and warned residents to flee, in a statement posted on X. Israel has been intensifying its bombardment of the city in preparation for an operation to take control of it, despite repeated entreaties from Western nations and aid agencies to stop. (Photo by Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP Photo)

A Muslim dervish whirls during celebrations for Mawlid al-Nabi that marks the birthday of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, October 9, 2022. Thousands of Muslims take part in religious processions, ceremonies and distribute free meals among the poor to mark the holiday. (Photo by Muhammad Sajjad/AP Photo)

People walk by a 3D video advertisement display of a giant cat that was recently installed in the famed Shinjuku shopping district in Tokyo on Friday, July 9, 2021. (Photo by Hiro Komae/AP Photo)

A family tries to cross a flooded road amid gushing water in Kolkata, India on August 17, 2019. Heavy rain continues for a second day in Kolkata, which contuinued to flood many streets all around the city. Authorities are working overtime to clear the roads. (Photo by Debarchan Chatterjee/Zuma Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Yaroslav Segeda at the top of a high rise building in Kudrinskaya Square, Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Yaroslav Segeda/Caters News)

Indian army training cadets perform “Kalaripayattu”, an ancient martial art from Kerala, during a combined display ahead of their graduation ceremony, at the Officers Training Academy (OTA), in Chennai, India on September 8, 2023. A combined display of training proficiency was organized at the OTA as a prelude to a passing-out parade of cadets. The combined display marks the culmination of the adventure training and showcases the skills and expertise of armed forces display teams. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/EPA/EFE)

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.

Members of staff makes last minute touch ups of wax figure Chewbacca, from Star Wars, on display at “Star Wars At Madame Tussauds” on May 12, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images)