People enjoying the hot weather on Brighton beach in Sussex, England on August 7, 2020. (Photo by Stephen Lock/i-Images)

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.

In this Thursday, April 11, 2013 photo, North Korean female soldiers stand watch on the river bank of the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite to the Chinese border city of Dandong. (Photo by AP Photo)

A dead whale is seen on the shore of the Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil November 15, 2017. A biologist, Rafael Carvalho, said on Wednesday the whale appeared to have been dead for a few days. Authorities were urging beachgoers who had flocked to Ipanema on a national holiday to stay away from the animal. However, many were spotted near the carcass with some people playing in the water nearby. The whale is approximately 39 feet (12 metres) long and weighs about 25 tonnes. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

People celebrate the start of the New Year as fireworks illuminate Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, early Monday, January 1, 2024. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

A racegoer flashes her undies in front of the racing crowd during Caulfield Cup Day at Caulfield Racecourse on October 21, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Splash News and Pictures)

A doll, placed by stranded Iranian migrant protesters, hangs from barbed wire in front of Madedonian police at the Greek-Macedonian border near to the Greek village of Idomeni November 29, 2015. The protesters were demonstrating against what they say is the closure of the border for Iranian migrants. According to the demonstrators, the hanging toys and dolls represent the outcome of being unable to return, if they are sent back to Iran. (Photo by Yannis Behrakis/Reuters)

Holloways Beach resident Lisa Methven watches the storm across the Coral Sea as Cyclone Jasper approaches landfall in Cairns in far north Queensland on December 13, 2023. A tropical cyclone was building strength as it rolled towards northeastern Australia on December 13, with authorities warning “life-threatening” floods could swamp coastal regions for days. (Photo by Brian Cassey/AFP Photo)