A priest sprinkles holy water at a cat at a drive-through pet blessing, ahead of World Animal Day, at a mall in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines on October 2, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/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.

People walk past debris on May 3, 2015 in Bhaktapur, Nepal. A major 7.8 earthquake hit Kathmandu mid-day on Saturday, and was followed by multiple aftershocks that triggered avalanches on Mt. Everest that buried mountain climbers in their base camps. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

A security guard looks at the models during La Perla’s presentation at the Dream Hotel. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, New York City, Spring 2014. From the series “Fashion Lust”. (Photo by Dina Litovsky)

Promotional models use their smartphones during their break at the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing May 6, 2014. Mobile Internet industry executives, developers and investors from more than 30 countries took part in the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing, the organiser said. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A model walks off stage in the backstage area during Frankie's Bikinis show at Mercedes Benz Swim Fashion Week in Miami, July 18, 2014. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Austrian alpine skiers (LtoR) Georg Streitberger, Klaus Kroell, Max Franz, Joachim Puchner, Romed Baumann pose in the Olympic Rings on February 4, 2014 at the Mountain Olympic Village at the Rosa Khutor Alpine centre, four days prior to the start of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

A cadet lies on the grass after collapsing during a promotion ceremony at a police school in Bogota December 7, 2012. (Photo by John Vizcaino/Reuters)