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.

This female orangutan was born at the zoo in the German capital of Berlin. German online users have fallen in love with Berlin Zoo's most recent addition – this newborn orangutan. The female orangutan was born in the early hours of 12th January at the zoo in the German capital of Berlin and weighed a tiny 1.8 kilograms, normally regarded as small for an orangutan baby but nevertheless the infant is healthy and strong. (Photo by Europics/Zoo Berlin)

British-American actress and model Lily Collins replicates Cher Horowitz's “Clueless” moment in the first decade of May 2022. (Photo by lilyjcollins/Instagram)

American influencer and former artistic gymnast Olivia Dunne walks the runway at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show at W South Beach on May 31, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)

The former Golf Channel and Fox Sports host, golf influencer Holly Sonders is seen on November 18, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by joce zerojack/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Participants attend the annual May bank holiday “Jack In The Green” parade and festival in Hastings, Britain, May 6, 2019. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

From hookers, sеx toys & heartbreak – how Lily Allen’s open marriage imploded, as her ex David Harbour’s lover is named . English singer-songwriter and actress Lily Allen in the last decade of October 2025 put her spectacular marriage breakdown into the public domain. (Photo by Morgan Maher/Perfect Magazine)

“Romain de Tirtoff (23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990) was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym Erté, the French pronunciation of his initials, R.T. He was a diversely talented 20th-century artist and designer who flourished in an array of fields, including fashion, jewellery, graphic arts, costume and set design for film, theatre, and opera, and interior decor”. – Wikipedia. Photo: Romain de Tirtoff (Erte) – “Symphony In Black” (please click to enlarge).