English actress and model Amy Jackson poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film “Monster” at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP Photo)

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 Palestinian girl is seen inside the giant jerry can filled with water as displaced Palestinians, sheltering in tents they have set up in schools and along roadsides, experience the increasing temperatures in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on June 11, 2024. Especially children are the most affected by the extremely hot weather conditions, while the number of Palestinians migrating to Deir al-Balah is increasing day by day due to Israeli attacks on different parts of Gaza. (Photo by Hasan Jedi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Brazilian graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra (C) puts the final touches to his piece of art in tribute to Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, next to his assistants, at the financial center on Sao Paulo's Avenida Paulista January 22, 2013. Kobra created the 56-metre (61-yard) tall graffiti artwork as a tribute to Niemeyer, one of the 20th century's most influential modernist architects. Niemeyer died in December 2012, aged 104. (Photo by Andre Penner/AP Photo)

Canadian singer Avril Lavigne leaves little to the imagination wearing a see-through top as she and boyfriend Mod Sun arrive at a friend's house in Calabasas, CA. with Avril's dog on July 14, 2021. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

American singer-songwriter and TV personality Katy Perry takes advantage of “American Idol’s” Disney Night to dress up as Cinderella on May 12, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Eric McCandless/ABC)

A Gnawa traditional group performs in the city of Essaouira on December 14, 2019, to celebrate the decision of adding the Gnawa culture to UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Gnawa culture, a centuries-old Moroccan practice rooted in music, African rituals and Sufi traditions, was added to UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity earlier in the week. Gnawa refers to a “set of musical productions, fraternal practices and therapeutic rituals where the secular mixes with the sacred”, according to the nomination submitted by Morocco. Often dressed in colourful outfits, Gnawa musicians play the guenbri, a type of lute with three strings, accompanied by steel castanets called krakebs. (Photo by Fadel Senna/AFP Photo)

In this October 6, 1976, file photo, a right-wing student, center foreground, draws his arm back to strike a captured and wounded leftist student being taken by police to an ambulance in during a student massacre in Bangkok, Thailand. This year’s anti-government protests are seeking new elections, a more democratic constitution and an end to intimidation of political activists. Their speeches have repeatedly highlighted the 1976 tragedy, piquing the interest of the current generation in what their forebears faced. (Photo by Neal Ulevich/AP Photo/File)