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.

A cosplayer poses for a photograph during the Comic Market 90 (Comiket) event in Tokyo Big Sight on August 12, 2016, Tokyo, Japan. Many manga and anime fans wearing cosplay lined up in the sun for the first day of Comiket. Comiket was established in 1975 and focuses on manga, anime, gaming and cosplay. Organizers expect more than 500,000 visitors to attend this year's summer event which runs for three days until August 14. (Photo by Aflo/Splash News)

A couple take photographs alongside the National Monument on Calton Hill, Edinburgh on Wednesday January 5, 2022, ahead of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's update to the Scottish Parliament on the Covid-19 situation as the Omicron variant sweeps across the country. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)

A woman covers her face as a fire burns in the middle of town during an anti-G20 protest on July 7, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Authorities are braced for large-scale and disruptive protests as Leaders of the G20 group of nations arrive in Hamburg for the July 7-8 G20 summit. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

In this handout image provided by the Police of Swiss canton Valais the wreckage of a bus is seen after it crashed inside a motorway tunnel on March 13, 2012 in Sierre, Switzerland. 28 people, including 22 children, returning from a skiing holiday died in this bus accident. (Photo by Police Cantonale Valaisanne via Getty Images)

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)

Participants stretch their bodies as they pose for pictures before the Beijing International Marathon in Beijing, China, September 20, 2015. About 30,000 runners participated in the annual running event. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

An East German civilian (L) shows an East German customs officer the contents of his Trabant (auto) at checkpoint Potsdamer Platz in East Berlin in this November 24, 1989 file picture, as East Germany enforcing stringent customs controls to avoid smuggling. (Photo by Reuters)