“Li Xiaolu (also known as Lulu and as Jacqueline Li) (born 30 September 1982) is a Golden Horse award-winning Chinese actress, best known for her role in Joan Chen's directing debut Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Chinese actress and singer Li Xiaolu performs during the 2008 Beijing Pop Music Awards ceremony organized by Beijing Music Radio FM 97.4 on January 11, 2009 in Beijing, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)

A competitor scrambles in the mud under barbed wire during the Tough Guy Challenge 2009 at South Perton Farm on February 1, 2009 in Wolverhampton, England. The biannual event to raise cash for charity challenges thousands of international competitors to run through a gruelling set of 21 obstacles including water, fire and tunnels after a lengthy run at the start. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty 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.

Power to the people! Giant transmission tower people that is… We can all agree that transmission towers (that’s an electricity pylon or ironman for you European and Aussie folk) are very necessary yet completely unsightly. These suspension towers dot our landscapes, typically soaring 15-55 meters (49 – 180 ft) high.

Members of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) demonstrate their skills on motor-bikes during the BSF Golden Jubilee Day celebration in New Delhi on December 1, 2015. (Photo by Money Sharma/AFP Photo)

An employee looks at the artwork “4-Chlorephenol, 2008”, part of the artist Damien Hirst's exhibition “The Complete Spot Paintings” at the Gagosian Gallery on January 12, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images)

Karima Adebibe, the newly crowned face of Lara Croft, poses, with a Burmese python on the eve of the release of the record breaking new video game “Lara Croft Tomb Raider; Legend” at The Barbican on April 6, 2006 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

An Ambassador car, licensed as taxi rolls past other vehicles through a busy road in Kolkata, india, Monday, May 26, 2014. India's oldest car factory has abruptly suspended production of the hulking Ambassador sedan that has a nearly seven-decade history as the car of the Indian elite. (Photo by Bikas Das/AP Photo)