British prime minister Winston Churchill (1874–1965) stops to pet a cat at Liverpool Street Station, 24th May 1952. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

A tourist visits an ocean park during the International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22, 2024 in Handan, Hebei Province of China. May 22 marks the 24th International Day for Biological Diversity. (Photo by Hao Qunying/VCG via Getty Images)

In this June 1, 2016 photo, Maria Arias stands near her kitchen as she puts on earrings while getting ready for school in Caracas, Venezuela. So many students have fainted from hunger at Maria's school that administrators told parents to keep their children home until they could find more food. (Photo by Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo)

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.

Steamed Chinese-style buns, known locally as salapao, are decorated with faces during the start of the annual 10-day vegetarian festival in Bang Saphan, southern Thailand on October 13, 2015. (Photo by Matthew Richards/Courtesy Image)

UConn students from Storrs, Conn., Gary Tu, Danny Wang and Victor Zheng, fish at Shenipsit Lake in Tolland, Conn. during sunset on Tuesday, August 19, 2014. (Photo by Jim Michaud/AP Photo/Journal Inquirer)

Amazing gravity-defying photo manipulations by Ravshaniya, a photographer from Uzbekistan, teeters on the edge of levitation. Photo: Untitled. (Photo by Ravshaniya)

Abbey Clancy attends Warner Music Brits after party on February 22, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by FameFlynet)