Cute sеxy caucasian brunette young woman dressed as Mrs. Santa Claus, smiling with joy, biting a candy cane with eyes closed, Christmas or New Years Eve 2022 concept. (Photo by Cryptographer/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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.

Chinese-American actress Bai Ling is seen on October 15, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Hollywood To You/Star Max/GC Images)

Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez attend The 58th GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

Director Taro Kambe directs as he watches acting with VR headset during a rehearsal for ROCKET's 3D virtual reality adult film at the company's studio in Tokyo, Japan, July 31, 2017. Japan is the world's second biggest virtual reality market after the United States and the adult entertainment industry and gaming sector are turning to VR as a new way to distribute content. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Parts of the Royal Chariot, which will be used during the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej's funeral later this year is seen at the National Museum in Bangkok, Thailand, February 6, 2017. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)

A woman squeezes between two public buses in downtown Lima, March 17, 2014. Bogota and two other Latin American capitals – Mexico City, and Lima in Peru – were named as the three capitals with the least safe transport systems for women in the Thomson Reuters Foundation poll of more than 6,550 women and gender and city planning experts. Women in Latin America say they face a wide range of daily threats on public transport, and not enough is done to ensure their safety. (Photo by Enrique Castro-Mendivil/Reuters)

Colombia midfielder Natalia Gaitan (3) goes up for a header against Mexico midfielder Nayeli Rangel (7) in Moncton, June 9, 2015. (Photo by Matt Kryger/USA TODAY Sports)