Afghan women and a boy make their way in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, November 15, 2015. (Photo by Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)

A homeless man rests on the side of a street at the old quarter of Yemen's capital Sanaa November 27, 2015. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah/Reuters)

A Taiwanese woman takes a photo of a Christmas tree decoration at a street in Taipei, Taiwan,13 December 2015. (Photo by Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA)

A man rides his loaded tricycle next to three schoolgirls in Shanghai on December 11, 2015. (Photo by Johannes Eisele/AFP Photo)

Actors perform the living Nativity biblical scenes in Postojna cave in Postojna, Slovenia, December 22, 2015. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)

In this Tuesday, December 15, 2015 photo, an Afghan man sells traditional sauces and pickles on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Massoud Hossaini/AP Photo)

Children play in front of a brick factory on the outskirts of the northern Myanmar city of Mandalay on December 14, 2015. (Photo by Phyo Hein Kyaw/AFP Photo)

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.