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.

Films that are being screened are advertised in a makeshift cinema located under a bridge in the old quarters of Delhi, India May 25, 2016. A makeshift cinema hall under a 140-year-old bridge in the Indian capital is allowing poor rickshaw pullers and migrant labourers to escape daily hardship and sweltering heat into a world of Bollywood song, dance and romance. With the rusty iron floor of the bridge as its ceiling and some old rags acquired on the cheap from a nearby crematorium serving as curtains and floor mats, the cinema shows four films a day. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

A volunteer photographs a woman as she kisses a volunteer wearing a condom costume during marking the International Condom Day in Kiev, Ukraine, 13 February 2015. The event was organized to promote and create awareness towards “Safe s*x” and the use of condoms to control and prevent Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted diseases on the occasion of the International Condom day. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA)

American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, actress and model Tinashe is seen on July 23, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by gotpap/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Climate activists of the “Last Generation” covered with mud protest in front of the Senate building in Rome, Italy, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. Two bare breast activists have smeared the facade of the senate with mud, shouting the slogan: “Help us for the ecological transition”. (Photo by Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via EXPA)

An Afghan girl harvests Cotton buds at a field on the outskirts of Balkh province, Afghanistan, November 15, 2014. (Photo by Sayed Mustafa/EPA)

A model jumps during a photo shooting, in Milan, Italy, Friday, January 15, 2016. Men's fashion week starts today and will run until Tuesday, January 19. (Photo by Luca Bruno/AP Photo)

Peter Stringfellow, 1994. He was an English businessman and nightclub owner. Stringfellow started in the nighttime trade in the early 1960s and recalled booking acts including The Beatles, The Kinks and Jimi Hendrix to play at his clubs. Peter Stringfellow has died aged 77 on June 7, 2018. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)