A werewolf sculpture looms over an “Altadena – Not For Sale!” sign on a property destroyed by the Eaton Fire, Monday, February 17, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/AP Photo)

Law enforcement officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against federal immigration sweeps near the U.S. immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York City, on June 10, 2025. (Photo by Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)

A Chimpanzee is seen with funny expressions at Hanover Zoo on September 27, 2013 in Hanover, Germany. (Photo by Barcroft Media)

Oscar-winning directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, known collectively as the Daniels, march with Writers Guild of America members outside Sunset Bronson Studios and Netflix Studios, after union negotiators called a strike for film and television writers, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 3, 2023. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

A man raises his fist as a group of Black Lives Matter marchers approached Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza ast the beginning of a Caribbean-led rally, Sunday, June 14, 2020, in New York. Protests have grown since the May 25th death of George Floyd, a black man who died inn police custody in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes. (Photo by Kathy Willens/AP Photo)

Jasmine Paolini hits a forehand during her first-round US Open match on Sunday, August 24, 2025 at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Ray Giubilo)

A man carries his wife on his back as they make their way with their luggage along a flooded tunnel to catch their train, after heavy rainfall hit Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China, July 21, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

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.