Two women look at a mobile phone as they stand on Tiananmen Square during a sand storm in heavily polluted weather in Beijing on February 28, 2013. Beijing residents were urged to stay indoors as pollution levels soared before a sandstorm brought further misery to China's capital. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

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.

Sunset on Monday evening, June 17, 2024 at Mudeford in Dorset, UK with a swan stretching it's wings. (Photo by Cenk Albayrak-Touye/Picture Exclusive)

Snorkellers approach an adult manatee at Three Sisters Spring, Crystal River, Florida. You might imagine that coming face to face with one of these enormous underwater mammals would cause some concern. However, the likelihood is that the rotund creature just wants you to scratch its belly while it floats around happily, as world-renowned underwater photographer Alex Mustard discovered. (Photo by Alexander Mustard/Barcroft Media)

In this September 10, 2016 picture, a girl takes pictures of a fellow contestant while warming up backstage before competing in the Romania Miss Pole Dance Contest, ahead of the finals of the Pole Sport&Fitness World Championship 2016 in Bucharest, Romania. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

Two Afghan children stand amid piles of garbage next to their home, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, April 18, 2022. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

A Delhi Police officer stretches during a rehearsal for the upcoming Republic Day parade on a foggy winter morning in New Delhi, India on January 4, 2024. (Photo by Sahiba Chawdhary/Reuters)

The Bratz Rock Angels are displayed at the Dream Toys 2005 Pre-Christmas Expo on October 5, 2005 in London. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)