An Armatix employee holds a “smart gun” by the company at the Armatix headquarters in Munich May 14, 2014. The gun is implanted with an electronic chip that allows it to be fired only if the shooter is wearing a watch that communicates with it through a radio signal. If the gun is moved more than 10 inches (25 cm) from the watch, it will not fire. A Maryland gun shop owner has dropped his plan to be the first in the United States to sell the so-called “smart gun” after a backlash that included death threats. (Photo by Michael Dalder/Reuters)

Hospitality staff members laugh as they stand on Tiananmen Square before the closing ceremony of China's 19th Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Tuesday, October 24, 2017. The ruling Communist Party on Tuesday formally lifted Xi Jinping's status to China's most powerful ruler in decades, setting the stage for the authoritarian leader to tighten his grip over the country while pursuing an increasingly muscular foreign policy and military expansion. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

Peter Dinklage, left, and Lena Headey attend the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 20, 2015, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Alex Berliner/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)

Two 70 thousand RMB (about 11,310 USD) robots carry dishes and offer service for customers at a robot themed restaurant at Chunxi Road in Chengdu, China, December 11, 2014. The restaurant has 10 robots to serve as waiters. Each robot can carry simple dishes and offer simple greetings. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

Colombia fans celebrate a goal during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Colombia and Greece, at a park in Bogota June 14, 2014. (Photo by John Vizcaino/Reuters)

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 U.S. Army B-24 Liberator Bomber is hailed by a ground crewman as it takes off over a line of shark- nosed fighter planes at an advanced base in China on a mission on October 10, 1943, to bomb Japanese installations. (Photo by AP Photo)

New parents Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are seen leaving Khloe Kardashian's 32nd birthday party held at Dave and Buster's in Hollywood, California on June 28, 2016. (Photo by Splash News)