American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus makes a tank top referencing Selena Gomez's “SNL” joke in the second decade of May 2022. (Photo by mileycyrus/Instagram)

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.

Yu Jietao, 26-year-old wood carver, sits in his homemade wooden car along a street in Guangfeng county of Shangrao, Jiangxi province, China February 9, 2015. The car can travel as fast as 30 km (18.6 miles) per hour, local media reported. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A Peugeot 408 car is displayed during the 2011 (15th) Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao International Auto Show at Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center on June 2, 2011 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province of China. The 6-day Auto Show will be held from June 2 to 7 with total exhibition area of 110,000 square meters. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

Participants lay down on a street covered by coloured powder during the annual Bangkok Color Run in Bangkok, Thailand April 1, 2017. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

Zhang Jinduo's wife tries on a self-made racing car on the outskirts of Shenyang, Liaoning province May 10, 2008. Zhang, the 53-year-old local farmer made the racing car with the help of his son who is a car mechanic. The car is equipped with a rear-mounted motorcycle engine and can achieve 60-80 km per hour, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Jourdan Dunn poses for photographers upon arrival at the MTV European Music Awards 2016 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Sunday, November 6, 2016. (Photo by NIVIERE/SIPA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Entomologist Anna Platoni wears a hat made of tropical flowers made by florist Emma Reynolds with a Blue Morpho butterfly on her cheek to mark the opening of Butterflies in the Glasshouse at RHS Garden Wisley, south of London, on Janurary 15, 2016. (Photo by Luke MacGregor/PA Wire/RHS)