US actress Vanessa Hudgens poses upon her arrival for the 25th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation's Academy Awards Viewing Party on February 26, 2017 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Tibrina Hobson/AFP Photo)

The car driven by Scott Dixon, of New Zealand, goes over the top of Jay Howard, of England, in the first turn during the running of the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 28, 2017, in Indianapolis. (Photo by Marty Seppala/AP Photo)

Children of Indian laborers play on make-shift swings in Amritsar, India, May 12, 2015. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

A pro-democracy demonstrator fights with a Soviet soldier on top of a tank parked in front of the Russian Federation building on August 19, 1991, after a coup toppled Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. The same day, thousands in Moscow, Leningrad, and other cities answered Russian Republic President Boris Yeltsin's call to raise barricades against tanks and troops. (Dima Tanin/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

In this April 2, 2015 photo, dog owner Laura Aquilina strolls with her two year old Rottweiler Brutus, who was recently fitted with prosthetics on all four paws, and is currently learning to use them, near Aquilina's home in Loveland, Colo. Brutus lost all four paws to frostbite as a puppy while under care of a breeder, and Aquilina began caring for him about a year ago. (Photo by Brennan Linsley/AP Photo)

Star Wars actors on the Cantina set at Star Wars Celebration: The Ultimate Fan Experience held at the Anaheim Convention Center on Thursday, April 16, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Photo)

Singer Halsey has her dress adjusted before she poses during the premiere of the film “The Huntsman: Winter's War” in Los Angeles, California, April 11, 2016. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Reuters)