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.

Riot police walk in the street as a couple kiss on June 15, 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Vancouver broke out in riots after their hockey team the Vancouver Canucks lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images)

Tourists walk as others relax on the beach in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, Egypt, July 17, 2017. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

A woman stands in front of graffiti depicting Venezuela's late former President Hugo Chavez, right, and revolutionary hero Simon Bolivar, in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, October 25, 2017. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

Aerobatic pilot Sean D. Tucker flies in the two-seat Oracle Extra airplane over downtown Chicago skyline, Wednesday, June 8, 2016. Tucker will perform before the start of of the America's Cup World Series racing on Saturday and Sunday. (Photo by Kiichiro Sato/AP Photo)

“Shortly after he arrived, Van Agtmael witnessed the aftermath of this suicide bombing at a cafe that soldiers frequented in Mosul. Nine people died and 23 were wounded”. (Photo and caption by Van Agtmael/Harrison Jacobs/Magnum Photos)

In this photo taken with long time exposure, a woman wears a hat at Churchill Downs before the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race Saturday, May 4, 2019, in Louisville, Ky. (Photo by Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)

A dead body is seen on the ground after violence erupted in the Independence Square in Kiev February 20, 2014. Ukrainian protesters seized back Kiev's Independence Square in fresh clashes with riot police on Thursday that left several injured and possibly two demonstrators dead. (Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters)