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.

Girls lead a gaggle of geese, backdropped by a banner against the war in Ukraine, during a Saint Martin's Day procession next to Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, November 11, 2022. Saint Martin's day marks the end of the harvest season as well as the start of winter. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

A string is used to ensure that the skirts of female members of the honour guard are in the same height from the ground as they prepare for a welcoming ceremony for Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, July 5, 2016. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Members of the staff wait for the start of the maiden press conference for China's all-girl “boyband” FFC-Acrush in Beijing, China April 28, 2017. Picture taken April, 28, 2017. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A model presents a creation by designer Alexis Mabille as part of his Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2020 collection show in Paris, France, January 21, 2020. (Photo by Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

Peng Jing, 24, attends her wedding photography shoot after the lockdown was lifted in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province and China's epicentre of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, April 15, 2020. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

A supporter of China's President Xi Jinping waits on the Mall for him to pass during his ceremonial welcome, in London, Britain, October 20, 2015. Xi is on a State visit to Britain. (Photo by Peter Nicholls/Reuters)

A woman moves a sandbag along a flooded road in the aftermath of the heaviest recorded rainfall in Zhengzhou in central China's Henan province on Saturday, July 24, 2021. Rescuers used bulldozers and rubber boats to move residents out of flooded neighborhoods in central China on Saturday after torrential rains killed at least 56 people. (Photo by Dake Kang/AP Photo)