Visitors dressed in superhero costumes attend the Paris Comics Expo at the Parc Floral in Paris, France, April 15, 2016. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

A girl poses in her costume during a Halloween party at a mall in Quezon city, Metro Manila October 24, 2015. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Reuters)

A man carrying a sailfish walks through Hamarweyne district in South Mogadishu on March 25, 2015. (Photo by Carl De Souza/AFP Photo)

Olaf Niess catches swans on the river Alster near the town hall in Hamburg, Germany, 17 November 2015. The Alster swans are moving to their ice-free winter quarters on the Eppendorf Muehlenteich millpond until spring. (Photo by Bodo Marks/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 street performer dressed up as a waiter performs for at Marques de Larios street in downtown Malaga, Spain, July 4, 2016. (Photo by Jon Nazca/Reuters)

A man passes by an unfinished street art graffiti made in a stairway by French street artists Zag and Sia in Paris on March 1, 2016. The two artists drew inspiration from famous “Liberty Leading the People” (La Liberte guidant le peuple) painting by French Eugene Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 and viewed as a symbol of the French Republic. (Photo by Joel Saget/AFP Photo)

American actress Indya Moore attends the FOX/HULU Golden Globe Awards viewing party and post-show celebration at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 6, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray/Getty Images for Hulu)