A horse buggy is headed for the stables on a foggy night in New Orleans, Monday, December 18, 2017. (Photo by David Grunfeld/NOLA.com The Times-Picayune via AP Photo)

Vehicles pass through the heavy fog and air pollution that cover Skopje valley in the early morning, in Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 14 December 2017. According to media reports, Skopje is considered one of the most polluted cities in the world. (Photo by Georgi Licovski/EPA/EFE)

A protester poses for a photo in front of a burning barricade in Barcelona, Spain on February 17, 2021 as a protest following the imprisonment of rapper “Pablo Hasel” convicted to jail for glorifying terrorism and insulting Spain's former king in lyrics turns into riots for a second night. (Photo by Matthias Oesterle/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

An alligator devours a fish carcass he stole from a raven in Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida on November 24, 2022. The Big Cypress Swamp is a freshwater swampland located near the Everglades National Park. (Photo by Ronen Tivony/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A Ukrainian serviceman of the 47th “Magura” Separate Mechanized Brigade plays with a cat, which his unit evacuated from a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at undisclosed location in Donetsk region, Ukraine on February 8, 2024. (Photo by Alina Smutko/Reuters)

A pair of alpacas at a British farm in Dorchester, Dorset on October 9, 2024 pose together at the perfect time to conjure up a creature straight out of Dr Dolittle's imagination. (Phoot by MaxWillcock/Bournemouth News)

Cosplayer Monzerath Gutierrez, who portrays Dragon Ball Z character Trunks, female version, poses for a portrait during the 4th edition of the MiniCon Anime convention, at the School of Dance, in Managua, Nicaragua, Sunday, July, 26, 2015. (Photo by Esteban Felix/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.