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 girl jumps over a campfire while celebrating Ivan Kupala Night, a traditional Slavic holiday not far from Kiev on July 6, 2013. During the celebration, originating in pagan times, people plait wreaths, jump over fires, and swim naked. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP Photo)

American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo wishes her famous bestie, actor Iris Apatow, a happy birthday on October 12, 2021. (Photo by Instagram)

A woman wearing a face mask has her hair curled by a special equipment at a beauty salon in Bangkok on July 12, 2020. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A woman offers prayers by a road as a rickshaw puller transports passengers in Kolkata October 28, 2014. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

People dance during a heavy metal concert at Omni Space in Beijing, China, August 14, 2020. China boasts a small but buoyant heavy metal scene, where bands mix genre standards with Chinese elements. Black metal is a sub-genre that creates a dark, moody atmosphere layering heavily distorted guitars and high-pitched vocals. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

This image released by Neon shows Matthew McConaughey in a scene from “The Beach Bum”. (Photo by Atsushi Nishijima/Neon via AP Photo)

A visitor tries the Segway “S-Pod” motorized chair on the manufacturer's booth during the 2020 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, 08 January 2020. (Photo by Etienne Laurent/EPA/EFE)