We all know John Stamos is capable of playing “sexy” (the man has somehow turned Greek yogurt into an aphrodisiac—have mercy), but how many times have we seen him portray a high school kid on the edge of delinquency? When renowned New York-based photographer Howard Schatz set out to create his 20th tome, Caught In The Act: Actors Acting (an extension of his popular “In Character” item for Vanity Fair), he hoped to capture a slew of Hollywood’s elite doing what they do best in a stripped down, vulnerable state. And the finished product is delightful.
At least three snapshots are devoted to each actor, often more, with every image depicting a scenario that had been pre-determined by Schatz and his co-author, writer Owen Edwards: John Goodman “greeting a bunch of little trick-or-treaters at the door in a way you figure they’ll never forget;” Ken Jeong as “a gymnastics coach from China screaming at a nine-year-old who just fell off the balance beam.” Giving the actors specific characters to play was what enhanced Schatz’s vision for the book. “If you make soup and add a funny ingredient, you change its taste. I found that I could make different photos of the same person simply by adding an adjective,” he said. “Working with actors, who use their bodies and imaginations to make somebody up from another place, world or time—it fascinated me.”
And lest you think this is simply a book of pictures, each gallery is prefaced by an intimate interview, all of which were conducted by Schatz himself. “There were two or three million words of interviews,” he said. “I talked with every actor about ideas and work, about creativity and imagination, about how they come to characters.”
Click through the gallery below for a sampling from Schatz’s new book, out October 20th from Glitterati Incorporated.
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You’re a woman in your 18th hour of labor, screaming at your husband that he’d better never touch you again.
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You’re a middle school dork at Halloween, telling your friend that we should put a burning bag of dog shit at the principal’s front door, ring the bell, and run. “We’ll be LEGENDS!!!”
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You’re a high school mean girl, hearing a rumor that your main rival for prom queen may be pregnant.
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You’re a kid with strep throat at the doctor, responding with enthusiasm at the request to stick out your tongue and say “Aaaaaaaaaah!”
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You’re the older, unmarried sister of the bride, pretending to be amused and delighted when the best man points out in his toast that Baby Sis got to the altar first.
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You’re a one-night-stand specialist, in a restaurant, bumping into a woman you slept with a couple weeks ago and have mostly forgotten already, trying—and failing—to put a name to the face: “Oh, hi…you!”
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You’re a high school senior whose parents are away for the weekend, just getting naked with your boyfriend for the first time, when you’re kid sister bursts into the room screaming that the dog has run away.
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You’re a mid-level trader for Goldman, frazzled by trying to keep up with instantaneous micro transactions, realizing — just seconds too late — that you’ve made a potentially disastrous move.
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You’re a newcomer to New York, on a crowded subway at rush hour, realizing that you’re being groped.
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You’re a high school kid at the edge of delinquency, reacting to your mother telling you that you’ll be in trouble when your father comes home: “Oooooh, I’m so scared!”
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You’re confronting your lover, who has rejected you, and his wife as they come out of a restaurant: “Did he tell you about me? Did he tell you that he loved me and wanted to leave you? Do you know that I’m pregnant with his child? Do you? Do you?”
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You’re an eight-year-old kid at a demolition derby, telling your dad, “This is just the best thing…EVER!!”
