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 dog plays amid a heavy snowfall in Madrid on January 9, 2021. Heavy snow fell across much of Spain, leaving huge areas blanketed in white as Storm Filomena brought wintry weather not seen in decades to the Iberian peninsula. (Photo by Benjamin Cremel/AFP Photo)

Giant 65-foot-long Hot dog artwork by Brooklyn-based artist duo Jen Catron and Paul Outlaw stands on the middle of Times Square in New York City, NY, USA on April 30, 2024. (Photo by Guerin Charles/ABACA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

People carrying torches march during the traditional Bonfire Celebrations in Lewes, Britain on November 4, 2017. Lewes holds Britain's largest Bonfire night celebrations. The event marks Guy Fawkes Night and the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 and commemorates the memory seventeen Protestant martyrs from the town who were burned at the stake. Thousands gather with flaming torches to march through the street and burn effigies. (Photo by Neil Hall/EPA/EFE)

Hot air balloons fly over the sky in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, December 6, 2014. The two-day International Balloon festival 2014 featuring balloon pilots from Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Britain, and Czech Republic is held on December 06-07 2014 to celebrate Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's 87th birthday and also aimed to promote the tourism industry in Chiang Mai northern city. (Photo by Pongmanat Tasiri/EPA)

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)

Bronze whaler shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus), caught in traditional seine net and released by fisherman, Muizenberg beach, Cape Town, South Africa on October 11, 2016. Action shots have captured fishermen trying to free a potentially deadly Bronze Whaler shark who was caught in their nets. The incredible images show the eight-foot-long 500-pound predator lunging its mouth towards the fishermen who are desperately trying to pull it back into the safety of the sea by its tail. Eventually they succeeded. (Photo by Chris and Monique Fallows/NPL)

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)