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 woman sits on a terrace at Tiki hostel in Cantagalo favela, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 16, 2016. Hostels in a few of Rio's more than 1,000 slums serve not only as a cheap housing alternative for the more adventurous among the estimated 500,000 foreign tourists expected to arrive for the Olympics in August. The establishments also open up the rich culture of the city's shantytowns for travellers, giving them a glimpse into once “no-go” areas where about one-fifth of Rio's population lives. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

Leicester City hostesses take pictures in front of a billboard as people gather to watch the team's English Premier League soccer match against Everton on a big screen, in Bangkok, Thailand, May 7, 2016. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Soldiers are reflected in a puddle during a military parade during the celebrations for Romania's National Day in Bucharest December 1, 2014. (Photo by Radu Sigheti/Reuters)

Students wearing masks as a precaution amid the spread of COVID-19 put away a Cuban flag so it does not get wet in the rain on their first day of school after months without face-to-face classes in Havana, Cuba, Monday, November 8, 2021. As Cuba approaches the announced date of Nov. 15 for the reopening of the entire country to the world, getting children back to school is one of its priorities. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

A Filipino dancer performs with fire to mark the Chinese Lunar New Year in Manila's Chinatown, Philippines, 28 January 2017. Chinese around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year on 28 January 2017, the first day of the year of rooster. (Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA)

Two models sit in an acrylic “ZF-Car” from the German manufacturer of the same name at the Automechanika automotive service industry trade fair in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 12 September 2016. The Automechanika Fair runs from 13 to 17 September 2016. (Photo by Boris Rössler/EPA)

Men ride a motorcycle in front of destroyed houses after Hurricane Matthew passes Jeremie, Haiti, October 7, 2016. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)