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.

The new Toyota Camry Hybrid LE is parked next to the redesigned 2012 Camry SE after the unveiling event on the Paramount Studios lot on August 23, 2011 in Hollywood, California. The five-seat Camry SE and the Hybrid XLE sedans go on sale in December. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Participants dance during the West Indian Day Parade in the Brooklyn borough of New York September 5, 2016. The Labor Day Carnival (or West Indian Carnival) is an annual celebration held on American Labor Day (the first Monday in September) in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in New York City. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Reuters)

Revellers watch as police officers dance in the street at the Notting Hill Carnival in west London, August 30, 2015. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A woman peels potatoes for sale at a market located along a railway line in West Jakarta, Indonesia March 1, 2016. (Photo by Garry Lotulung/Reuters)

Security personnel patrol around West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, August 31, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Lightning strikes above Perch Rock Lighthouse in Merseyside, North West England on August 10, 2020. (Photo by Bav Media/The Sun)