(L-R) Ozzy Osbourne and son, producer Jack Osbourne visit the Tribeca Film Festival 2011 portrait studio on April 25, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)

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.

USA's Jake Paul (L) and Mexico's Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight during their cruiserweight boxing bout at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on June 28, 2025. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP Photo)

Paris authorities began draining the Canal Saint-Martin, a popular waterway that attracts tourists and revelers in the French capital's trendy northeastern 10th arrondissement, for the first time in 14 years, Paris, January 5, 2016. (Photo by Christophe Geyres/SIPA Press/Newscom)

An aerial view of the figure of a Catrina skull made with 18,000 Cempasuchil flowers (Mexican marigold) is on display at the Church of Santa Prisca as part of Day of the Dead celebrations, in Taxco, Mexico on October 27, 2021. (Photo by Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

An aerial view of Lake Salt as teams conduct salt extraction works at lake which is a significant portion of Turkiye's salt need is met in Ankara, Turkiye on August 11, 2022. Salt extraction works lasts for about 3 months and continues with the recession of the waters in Lake Salt. The salt extracted from the lake, where salt is produced with a purity of 99 percent, is sent to more than 60 countries. (Photo by Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Aerial view of members of social organizations camping at the Plaza de Mayo square, outside the Casa Rosada presidential palace, to demonstrate against the rising inflation in Buenos Aires on April 19, 2023. (Photo by Emiliano Lasalvia/AFP Photo)

Aerial view of villagers drying chili peppers at a rural cooperative on August 21, 2024 in Bozhou, Anhui Province of China. (Photo by Yang Zhongqin/VCG via Getty Images)