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.

The internet has been awash with face swaps for years — here’s our contribution to the art of creating nightmares with Photoshop.

Brazilian Marcelo Medeiros of Yamaha team in an accident during the fifith stage of the Rally Dakar 2016 between Jujuy, Argentina, and Uyuni, Bolivia, 07 January 2016. (Photo by Felipe Trueba/EPA)

A model wears a creation for Stephane Rolland's Spring-Summer 2016 Haute Couture fashion collection presented in Paris, Tuesday, January 26, 2016. (Photo by Francois Mori/AP Photo)

A jogger is seen running at Hampstead Heath with London in the background on June 1, 2021. Britain sees temperatures increasing for the second day in a row after the mercury hit 25C (77 Fahrenheit) for the warmest day of the year so far on Bank Holiday Monday. (Photo by Joshua Bratt/London News Pictures)

ABC's “Dancing with the Stars”, Season 30 stars American Latin and ballroom dancer and choreographer Jenna Johnson (L) and American dancer, singer, actress, and YouTube personality JoJo Siwa on September 17, 2021. (Maarten de Boer/ABC via Getty Images)

American pop star Nicole Scherzinger, 43, of NBC's Annie Live! and FOX's The Masked Singer visits The Empire State Building on November 12, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)

English actress Michelle Keegan at “The Jonathan Ross Show” TV show, Series 18, Episode 7 in London, United Kingdom on December 4, 2021. (Photo by Brian J. Ritchie/Hotsauce/Rex Features/Shutterstock)