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.

Bella Hadid and Joan Smalls are seen attending the Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between' Costume Institute Gala – After Party on May 02, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

Members of the Delirio dance company perform during the “Hechizo” (Spell) virtual show, inspired by the legend of the merry widow on Hallo​ween night, in Cali, Colombia, 31 October 2020. (Photo by Ernesto Guzman Jr./EPA/EFE)

Models wait backstage prior to the Viktor&Rolf Spring-Summer 2022 Haute Couture fashion collection, in Paris, Wednesday, January 26, 2022. (Photo by Thibault Camus/AP Photo)

Flames from a burning barricade lit by pro-democracy protesters is reflected in the windows of a passing bus as passengers watch on during a protest gathering in front of Mong Kok police station on September 22, 2019 in Hong Kong, China. Pro-democracy protesters have continued demonstrations across Hong Kong, calling for the city's Chief Executive Carrie Lam to immediately meet the rest of their demands, including an independent inquiry into police brutality, the retraction of the word “riot” to describe the rallies, and genuine universal suffrage, as the territory faces a leadership crisis. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Grumpy Cat attends the “Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book” Book Event at Bookends Bookstore on October 16, 2013 in Ridgewood, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael N. Todaro/WireImage)

Victoria's Secret Angel Martha Hunt celebrates the 2015 What Is s*xy? List in San Diego on September 26, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Victoria's Secret)

A small section of the expanding remains of the Veil Nebula, a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago. The entire nebula is 110 light-years across, covering six full moons on the sky as seen from Earth, and resides about 2,100 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. Image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Released September 24, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team)