Dani (L) and Bella Thorne arrive at the 2016 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 20, 2016. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Reuters)

Miss Brazil Julia Gama reacts after her team won the tug of war event during the Miss World sports competition at the Lee Valley sports complex in north London, November 26, 2014. Contestants from 126 countries are in London to compete in the 2014 Miss World competition. (Photo by Andrew Winning/Reuters)

Indian women wearing traditional attire take a “selfie” with an Indian man dressed as King 'Mahabali' during the Hindu harvesting festival Onam celebrations in Bangalore, India, 28 August 2015. Local people put flower mats in front of their houses, to welcome the King Mahabali, a past ruler of Kerala southern India, during the ten-day festival. (Photo by Jagadeesh N. V./EPA)

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 Lebanese man is reflected in a pool of dirty water as he casts his fishing pole from a rocky coastal area along the Beirut coastline, Lebanon, Monday, October 3, 2016. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

Singer Ariana Grande (C) performs “Side by Side” during the 2016 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California, U.S., November 20, 2016. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

Models struggle against strong wind before the rehearsal of Christian Dior's Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2017 live show to celebrate Dior's new flagship store on the rooftop of Ginza Six mall in Tokyo, Japan, April 19, 2017. (Photo by Toru Hanai/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)