American actress and singer Lucy Hale seen on location for “Katy Keene” on the streets of Manhattan on October 9, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images)

Cameroonian model Venance Chiepodeu also known as Miss Cameroon arrives at Spring Studios for the LaQuan Smith's Dinner during fashion week in New York City on September 16, 2020. (Photo by Gabriele Holtermann/Sipa USA)

Ali Carter of England looks on during the match against Stuart Bingham of England during the 2011 China Open at Beijing University Students Gymnasium on March 30, 2011 in Beijing, China.

Ukrainian teenagers hit each other with pillows during a large pillow fight in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, 24 April 2016. About hundred people took part in the event “Pillow battle 2016” in Kiev. (Photo by Roman Pilipey/EPA)

Demi Rose attends Sixty6 Magazine – issue two launch party at Paper club on March 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Demi Sims her older sisters Chloe and Frankie, cast members of the British television series “The Only Way Is Essex” during filming in Marbella, resort area on southern Spain’s Costa del Sol on September 17, 2019. (Photo by Beretta/Sims/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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.

American pop star Nicole Scherzinger, 43, of NBC's Annie Live! and FOX's The Masked Singer visits The Empire State Building on November 12, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)