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.

Customers try out the the new iPad2 shortly after it went on sale at the Fifth Avenue Apple store March 11, 2011 in New York City. The iPad 2 became available at 4:00 a.m. Eastern time for online purchase and at 5:00 p.m. today in over 10,000 retail locations.

Girls hold hands as they help each other wade through a flooded street after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, October 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)

People dressed as a dancing devils with giant mask dance on a street, during a traditional celebration in Naiguata, Venezuela, Thursday, May 31, 2018. Carrying in their hands striking masks mostly animals and sea monsters, hundreds of men, women and children went out to dance frantically as possessed by evil spirits in an ancient ritual known as Dancing Devils of Naiguata, the unorthodox way of the coastal towns of Venezuela to venerate God during the celebrations of Corpus Christi. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

Erica Ash arrives at the BET Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, June 24, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP Photo)

A woman wearing a wedding dress takes part in the so-called “brides' match” at the FIFA Fan Fest in Kazan, a host city for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia June 30, 2018. (Photo by Alexey Nasyrov/Reuters)

American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, actress and model Tinashe is seen on July 23, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by gotpap/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

American singer Bleta “Bebe” Rexha poses with fans at the iHeartRadio MuchMusic Video Awards (MMVAs) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on August 26, 2018. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Reuters)