Riot police help an injured anti-government protester after scuffles broke out with women police officers on a road leading to the parliament building, during a protest in Beirut on November 19, 2019. Thousands of protesters rallying against the Lebanese political elite blocked roads in central Beirut on Tuesday, preventing lawmakers from reaching the parliament and forcing the postponement of a legislative session. (Photo by Bilal Hussein/AP Photo)

North Korea's Samjiyon Orchestra performs at Pyongyang Grand Theatre in Pyongyang, North Korea, September 18, 2018. (Photo by Pyeongyang Press Corps/Pool via Reuters)

A guest arrives before the Blumarine show during Milan Fashion Week Spring 2019 in Milan, Italy, September 21, 2018. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)

An Ethnic Kayan also know as a Long Neck girl sits at her parents souvenir shop in the Kayan village at the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 16, 2018. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Cast member Bryce Dallas Howard poses at the premiere of the movie “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 12, 2018. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

A participant with a face painted as popular Mexican figure “Catrina” attends the Day of the Dead event at a National house for Mexican fans in central Moscow, a host city for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Russia June 29, 2018. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

A “Free Syrian Army” fighter in the Bustan Pasha neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, August 21, 2013. (Photo by James Lawler Duggan)

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.