American actor Tom Cruise was seen jumping from a water taxi on the set of “Mission: Impossible 7” on October 20, 2020 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

A climate activist wears an oxygen mask to demonstrate the possibility of pumping oxygen from a tree in a bottle in the future, during a protest against the government's deforestation practices of Sri Lanka's main wildlife forests for developments in Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 22, 2021. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)

An Indian couple stained with colored powder enjoys a loving moment during the Holi festival celebrations in Chennai, India, 18 March 2022. Holi, also known as the “Festival Of Colors” is an ancient Indian Hindu festival symbolizing the victory of good over evil and marking the arrival of spring. It is held with joyful gatherings during which revelers cover each other in colored powders. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/EPA/EFE)

A Sudanese girl with half painted face watches as protesters demonstrate outside the defense ministry compound in Khartoum, Sudan, April 25, 2019. (Photo by Umit Bektas/Reuters)

A white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) sits over a tree in a field in Lahore, Pakistan, 26 March 2021. The most familiar Kingfisher species can be observed perched on branches or walls while on the lookout for grubs, insects and even fish in streams or garden ponds. (Photo by Rahat Dar/EPA/EFE)

Josef Stalin's head is left in a Budapest street after a statue to the communist dictator was torn from its plinth during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. (Photo by Robert Hofbauer/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)

A Geisha girl pouring a drink for a visitor, circa 1955. (Photo by Fox Photos). P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution.

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.