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.

Protesters take part in “Artists Take Fight Against Police Murders” in New York's Times Square August 13, 2015. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

A member of the Philippine National Police stands guard as he detains people as part of the “Rid the Streets Of Drinkers and Youth” operation on a main road in Las Pinas city, metro Manila, Philippines June 1, 2016. (Photo by Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

Mary Hickey poses with her collection of dolls at her home in Ashbourne, Ireland October 9, 2013. Hickey has been collecting the dolls for over thirty years and now owns over 420 dolls. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

Tourists pose for a selfie in Cancun, October 13, 2015. Cancun's transformation in the 1970s from a small Caribbean fishing village into a strip of nightclubs and high-rise hotels has reduced biodiversity and polluted water resources as infrastructure struggles to keep up. (Photo by Edgard Garrido/Reuters)

A man exercises in the early morning on a hilltop overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan March 3, 2016. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

Veteran racehorse Morestead models the world's first authentic Harris Tweed suit designed for a racing horse, which has been specially commissioned by William Hill to celebrate the opening of this year's Cheltenham Festival on March 15, 2016 in the U.K. (Photo by Joe Pepler/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

People wash in water from a broken water pipeline on the outskirts of Kolkata, India, March 30, 2016. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)