A woman rides a donkey during a donkey race in Roum village, Jizeen countryside, southern Lebanon, August 9, 2015. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/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.

Stranded cars remain in a flooded street during an intense rainstorm in Havana, on April 29, 2015. Two people were killed, three buildings collapsed and another 24 suffered some kind of damage due to the heavy rain that affected several sectors of Havana Wednesday. (Photo by Yamil Lage/AFP Photo)

Caporal dancers perform during the carnival celebrations in Oruro, Bolivia, Saturday February 14, 2015. The Carnival of Oruro which is a religious festival dating back more than 2000 years in an ongoing pagan-catholic blend of religious practice in the region, and is one of UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. (Photo by Juan Karita/AP Photo)

Debris fly into the air as foreign fishing boats are blown up by Indonesian Navy off Batam Island, Indonesia, Monday, February 22, 2016. Authorities on Monday sank dozens of fishing boats caught operating illegally in Indonesian waters as part of the country's campaign to battle illegal fishing. (Photo by M. Urip/AP Photo)

Tourists take pictures of straw figurines of traditional deities Shennong (R) and Zhang Wulang (L back) during China's National Day Holiday, in Xinhua county, Hunan province, October 4, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

Sierra “Lovely Amazin” Redd of Greensboro, North Carolina, poses for bikers by a custom Suzuki Katana on Ocean Boulevard during the 2015 Atlantic Beach Memorial Day BikeFest in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina May 24, 2015. (Photo by Randall Hill/Reuters)

Miss Wisconsin Haley Laundrie competes in the evening gown competition during the preliminary round of the 2015 Miss USA Pageant in Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, July 8, 2015. (Photo by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo)