A child carrying a small broom walks by a line of National Guard members deployed to Bellevue Square as community members clean up after looting and vandalism that occurred Sunday at Bellevue Square in downtown Bellevue, Washington, U.S. June 1, 2020. (Photo by Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)

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.

This time exposure photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows a series of lightning strikes over Santa Barbara, Calif., seen from Stearns Wharf in the city's harbor, Tuesday evening, March 5, 2019. A storm soaking California on Wednesday could trigger mudslides in wildfire burn areas where thousands of residents are under evacuation orders, authorities warned. (Photo by Mike Eliason/Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP Photo)

Old Heidelberg, Dog with Pipe, 1905. (Photo by Detroit Publishing Company)

Camila Cabello performs on stage during The Global Awards 2020 with Very.co.uk held at London's Eventim Apollo Hammersmith on Thursday, March 5, 2020. (Photo by Isabel Infantes/PA Images via Getty Images)

A man flies a kite made of 110 Tukkal or paper lanterns for the Hindu festival of “Makar Sankranti”, which marks the start of spring, in Ahmedabad January 13, 2011. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

American singer and model Ciara in the second decade of March 2023 makes a very important phone call. (Photo by ciara/Instagram)

American rapper Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus, known professionally as Cardi B lets her curves pop out in the last decade of March 2023. (Photo by iamcardib/Instagram)