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.

A lizard wears a cowboy hat at Pet Expo Thailand on May 06, 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. Dogs take part in a skateboarding competition at Pet Expo Thailand, a four day exhibition held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Dogs were judged on form and agility and separated into novice and experienced categories. Placing first place in the novice category was Mui and first in the experienced category was Suradej. Both house pets and exotic animals were featured at the expo, with visitors and their pets able to interact with them. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

A motorcyclist carries three young woman as he performs a wheelie on his motorbike during an exhibition in the Chapellin neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Sunday, June 12, 2022. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)

In collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Allegheny College art students repurpose used street signs as art materials to create the PennDOT Road Sign Sculpture Garden in Meadville, Pennsylvania, USA on August 19, 2017. (Photo by Brian Cahn/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

NYPD police wearing protective face masks and gloves respond to a report of an emotionally disturbed person (EDP), amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in the Midtown Manhattan area of New York City, U.S., September 15, 2021. (Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

This image released by Neon shows Matthew McConaughey in a scene from “The Beach Bum”. (Photo by Atsushi Nishijima/Neon via AP Photo)

English singer Dua Lipa has given fans a glimpse inside her pre-Christmas Cotswolds holiday on December 18, 2021, as she striped down to a bikini for a night time hot tub dip. The Grammy winning star looked every inch the pop diva in her racy outfit as she enjoyed quality time with her girlfriends after splitting from boyfriend Anwar Hadid after “two years together”. (Photo by Instagram)

“Eye of the Tower” by Mehmet Yasa; Verona, Italy. “The staircase and the bell looks like an eye. Architecture can fascinate us in many ways”. (Photo by Mehmet Yasa/Art of Building Photography Awards 2017)