A swimmer goes for a dip in freezing temperatures at the Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park, central London on December 1, 2023, as temperatures in the capital dip below zero for another night. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for parts of the UK with freezing temperatures and snow expected in large areas. (Photo by Ben Cawthra/London News Pictures)

Mug shot of William Stanley Moore, 1 May 1925, Central Police Station, Sydney. This picture appears in the Photo Supplement to the NSW Police Gazette, 28 July, 1926 captioned: “Opium dealer. Operates with large quantities of faked opium and cocaine. A wharf labourer; associates with water front thieves and drug traders”. (Photo by NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive, Justice & Police Museum, Histiric Houses Trust of NSW)

Meghan Umphres Leatherman, 9 nine months pregnant and dilated to 1cm seen lifting a heavy weight at her home town gym in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Dave Cruz/Barcroft Media)

An activist of the anti-G8 forum “Block G8” shows his middle finger to a police helicopter passing overhead June 07, 2007 at Bollhagen, near Heiligendamm, Germany. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)

Singer, songwriter, actress and philanthropist Miley Cyrus, L, takes a selfie while doing her signature tongue-out pose with GMU students Samaria Moss, 18, C, of Spottsylvania, VA, Jaide Tarwid, 18, from Wisconsin, and Zimuzo Okala, 19, of Chesapeake, VA, (blocked) as Cyrus makes a campaign visit for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine in Northern Virginia at George Mason University on Saturday, October 22, 2016 in Fairfax, VA. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Model Bella Hadid attends the “Cafe Society” premiere and the Opening Night Gala during the 69th annual Cannes Film Festival at the Palais des Festivals on May 11, 2016 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images)

Chinese-American actress Bai Ling attends “The Key” screening at The Real Experimental Film Festival at Laemmle's Music Hall on November 21, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Barry King/WireImage)

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.