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.

American television presenter Ashley Roberts attends day one of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 03, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by CarverPR)

Actors Alexandra Shipp and Vanessa Hudgens attend a premiere screening for “Tick, Tick . Boom” during the opening night of AFI Fest at TCL Chinese theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S. November 10, 2021. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

People dressed as zombies take part in a “Zombie Walk” parade in Athens, Greece, February 25, 2017. (Photo by Michalis Karagiannis/Reuters)

Kim Kardashian West attends the opening night of the new musical “The Cher Show” on Broadway at Neil Simon Theatre on December 03, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Annual celebration of Dinagyang festival of Iloilo, Philippines. (Photo by Raniel Jose Castañeda/Sony World Photography Awards)

«Underwater». Laurie Simmons discovered this silicone sеx doll in a shop while on holiday in Japan and was immediately interested in the type of generic beauty their looks could add to her work. She went on to create the Love Doll series, in which she places silicone sеx dolls in positions that explore a woman’s interior life. (Photo by Laurie Simmons/Salon 94/The Guardian)

A pink elephant balloon, one of the entries in the Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championships, lands in a field in High River September 27, 2013. The event is a qualifier for the World Hot Air Balloon Championships in Sao Paulo in 2014. (Photo by Mike Sturk/Reuters)