Girls play with their new dolls during the distribution of free toys for low-income families and a picture on the lap of one of the Three Wise Men at Almudena Cathedral in Madrid, Spain, December 22, 2015. Traditionally, children in Spain receive their presents delivered by the Three Wise Men on the morning of January 6 during the Christian holiday of the Epiphany. (Photo by Susana Vera/Reuters)

Andrey Karr from Western Riders Slacklines at sunset above big waves in Nazare, Portugal on December 27, 2017. (Photo by Aidan Williams/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)

Men eat oranges from a push cart along a road as a vehicle travels past them in Karachi January 22, 2015. (Photo by Akhtar Soomro/Reuters)

An Indian women offers early-morning prayers or a “puja” at a ghat early in the morning on the banks of the Betawa River in Orchha in the state of Madhya Pradesh on July 5, 2015. (Photo by Rebecca Conway/AFP Photo)

A participant covered in coloured powder gestures as she stands near a Syrian army soldier during “I Love Damascus” marathon at Umayyad Square in Damascus, Syria October 7, 2016. (Photo by Omar Sanadiki/Reuters)

A Kashmiri Shi'ite Muslim mourner flagellates himself during a Muharram procession to mark Ashura in Srinagar, India October 12, 2016. (Photo by Danish Ismail/Reuters)

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.

“The Independence day”. While on storm chasing expeditions in the Tornado Alley in USA I have encountered many photogenic supercell storms. This photograph was taken while we were approaching the storm near Julesburg, Colorado on My 28th, 2013. The storm was tornado warned for more than one hour, but stayed an LP storm through all its cycles and never produced a tornado, just occasional brief funnels, large hail and some rain. Photo location: Julesburg, Colorado, USA. (Photo and caption by Marko Korošec/National Geographic Photo Contest)