Silhouetted against the warm sunset skyline and the illuminated Tokyo Tower, visitors are reflected on the glass walls of a rooftop observation deck Thursday, January 21, 2021, in Tokyo. (Photo by Kiichiro Sato/AP Photo)

A protester raises her fist at the entrance of Highway 280 and S. 4th St. as people protest the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Friday, May 29, 2020. (Photo by Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

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.

“Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War. It is often performed during the festival of Thaipusam and emphasizes debt bondage. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God Murugan”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A devotee pulls his procession burden connected by hooks pierced in his back during the Thaipusam procession at Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on February 7, 2012 in Singapore. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

A paramedic enters an ambulance vehicle as she responds to a call received by Ambulance Station No 3 of Rostov-on-Don's Emergency Care Hospital on New Year's Day in Rostov-On-Don, Russia on January 1, 2022. (Photo by Erik Romanenko/TASS)

In the early morning of September 22, 2021, in the Baiyun Mountain Forest Park, Wuzhou City, Guangxi, the surrounding mountains are unobstructed, clouds and mists are lingering, and the gorgeous colorful glow is reflected by the sunrise. (Photo by Sipa Asia/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A handout photo made available by Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation shows hot lava spewing from Mount Ibu in North Maluku province, Indonesia, 04 July 2024 (issued 05 July 2024). The Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation (PVMBG) advises the community around Mount Ibu and visitors not to carry out activities within a radius of 2.0 kilometers and a sectoral expansion of 5 kilometers towards the crater opening in the northern part of the active crater of Mount Ibu. (Photo by PVMBG/EPA)

A Guarani boy pets a puppy in the Mata Verde Bonita village, in Marica, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, Thursday, February 25, 2020, where healthcare workers are making the rounds with coolers containing doses of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine as part of a mass immunization program aimed at inoculating all of Rio's 16 million residents by the end of the year. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)