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 3D street painting “Crevasse” by artist Edgar Mueller is seen in this undated picture during the “Festival of culture”, 2008 in Dun Laoghaire, Irland. Edgar Mueller put a part of the eastern Pier into the ice age. This project has been supported by the Goethe Institution Germany. (Photo by Edgar Mueller/Getty Images)

Yaroslav Segeda at the top of a high rise building in Kudrinskaya Square, Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Yaroslav Segeda/Caters News)

Russian Police academy female cadets march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square in St Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, May 7, 2014. Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany, is Russia's most important secular holiday celebrated on May 9. (Photo by Dmitry Lovetsky/AP Photo)

Commuters, some of them wearing masks as a precaution against the coronavirus ride an auto-rickshaw in Noida, outskirts of New Delhi, India, Thursday, July 16, 2020. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)

In this Wednesday, August 20, 2014 photo released by Red Bull, Maikel Melero of Spain warms up prior to the fifth stage of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour in the South African savanna of Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo by Joerg Mitter/AP Photo/Red Bull)

Japanese Yuuka Hasumi, 17, and Ibuki Ito, 17, also from Japan, who want to become K-pop stars, perform during their street performance in Hongdae area of Seoul, South Korea, March 21, 2019. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)

Aerial view of the Christ The Protector Statue and the Valle de Taquari on April 20, 2021 in Encantado, Brazil. The statue being built in Encantado, southern Brazil, will surpass the iconic Christ The Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro by seven meters. Made of steel and concrete, it will stand 43 meters including its pedestal, and become the third-tallest statue of Jesus Christ in the world. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)