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.

Members of the Times Square Alliance snow clearing team take a photo on a snowbank at Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York January 23, 2016. A winter storm dumped nearly 2 feet (58 cm) of snow on the suburbs of Washington, D.C., on Saturday before moving on to Philadelphia and New York, paralyzing road, rail and airline travel along the U.S. East Coast. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

A man passes by an unfinished street art graffiti made in a stairway by French street artists Zag and Sia in Paris on March 1, 2016. The two artists drew inspiration from famous “Liberty Leading the People” (La Liberte guidant le peuple) painting by French Eugene Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 and viewed as a symbol of the French Republic. (Photo by Joel Saget/AFP Photo)

Tracy Sarita celebrates the sunrise during the Burning Man 2015 “Carnival of Mirrors” arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, September 3, 2015. Approximately 70,000 people from all over the world are gathering at the sold-out festival to spend a week in the remote desert to experience art, music and the unique community that develops. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters)

Miss Universe contestants Laurien Angelista, of Curacao, left, Yasmin Verheijen, of the Netherlands, and Kaci Fennell, of Jamaica, walk in the pool during the Yamamay swimsuit runway show, Wednesday, January 14, 2015, in Doral, Fla. The Miss Universe pageant will be held January 25 in Miami. (Photo by Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)

In this photograph taken on April 16, 2014, a veterinary staff member of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme center conducts medical examinations on a 14-year-old male orangutan found with air gun metal pellets embedded in his body in Sibolangit district in northern Sumatra island. (Photo by Sutanta Aditya/AFP Photo)

Mario Huettenhofer, chief of the German company 3D Fab, presents his own face as 3d print during the international fairs FabCon 3.D and Rapid.Tech in Erfurt, Germany, Thursday, May 15, 2014. 130 exhibitors from all over the world present the entire world of 3D printing. The trade fairs are accompanied by specialist programs featuring 80 scientists, practitioners and trend analysts from ten countries, who will explain the latest findings, trends and applications for additive processes in industry and for 3D printing in the private sector to newcomers, experts and consumers alike. (Photo by Jens Meyer/AP Photo)

General Atmosphere at 2014 New York Comic Con – Day 3 at Jacob Javitz Center on October 11, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images)