Fans and community members gather around a LAPD car along the procession route for Nipsey Hussle after his memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, April 11, 2019. 4 people shot and 1 dead during the procession LAPD reported on late April 11, 2019 The Grammy-nominated artist was killed in front of The Marathon Clothing store he founded in 2017. (Photo by Kyle Grillot/AFP Photo)

A Hindu devotee drinks water from the Ganges River at the Sangam area, the confluence of rivers Ganges, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati, in Allahabad on March 16, 2021. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/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.

A woman rides her horse in the River Eden on Friday June 10, 2022, on Day 2 of the Appleby Horse Fair, the annual gathering of gypsies and travellers. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Wire Press Association)

Isabeau Levito, of the United States, reacts at the end of her short program at the world figure skating championships in Montreal, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (Photo by Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP Photo)

Jodie Ounsley who plays Fury in the British TV show Gladiators reacts after finishing the Women's Open Category race at the World Coal Carrying Championships in Ossett, West Yorkshire, England, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Photo by Jon Super/AP Photo)

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)

Singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist Miley Cyrus, L, takes a selfie while doing her signature tongue-out pose with GMU students Samaria Moss, 18, C, of Spottsylvania, VA, Jaide Tarwid, 18, from Wisconsin, and Zimuzo Okala, 19, of Chesapeake, VA, (blocked) as Cyrus makes a campaign visit for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine in Northern Virginia at George Mason University on Saturday, October 22, 2016 in Fairfax, VA. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)