Villagers cry for their relatives who were killed in an earthquake during a funeral in Longmen village, in Lushan county in southwest China's Sichuan province, on April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of the area after an earthquake left at least 180 people dead and more than 11,000 injured. (Photo by Associated Press)

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.

David Bowie wears an eyepatch in red suit and guitar on blue background at Top Pop television studios in Holland while doing playback to his hit song Rebel Rebel in 1974. (Photo by Barry Schultz/Sunshine/REX Shutterstock)

French President Emmanuel Macron performs at the Shrine Africa in Lagos on July 3, 2018. French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Abuja for a meeting with his Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari, in his latest attempt to forge closer ties with English- speaking Africa. (Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP Photo)

An alligator named Muja is seen in its enclosure in Belgrade's Zoo, Serbia, August 14, 2018. Muja is officially the oldest American alligator in the world living in captivity. He was brought to Belgrade from Germany in 1937, a year after the opening of the Zoo. Muja survived three bombings of Belgrade, the Second World War and all hardships the Zoo went through. (Photo by Marko Djurica/Reuters)

Children take part in the “Carnavalito” children's parade during the Blacks and Whites Carnival in Pasto, Colombia, on January 2, 2018. (Photo by Juan Barreto/AFP Photo)

Ahead of May Day, AFP' s video and photo teams spoke to men and women around the globe whose jobs are becoming increasingly rare, particularly as technology transforms societies. Here: Mohammad Ashgar, 65, an Indian rickshaw puller, poses for a photograph next to his rickshaw in Kolkata on April 21, 2018. (Photo by Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP Photo)

Revellers head out in Leeds city centre, which has one of the country's highest infection rates on October 11, 2020. Cities in northern England and other areas suffering a surge in Covid-19 cases may have pubs and restaurants temporarily closed to combat the spread of the virus. (Photo by NB PRESS LTD/The Sun)