A protestor confronts police and National Guard troops near the Wauwatosa City Hal on October 09, 2020 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The city has faced three days of demonstrations, prompting a 7 PM curfew, after District Attorney John Chisholm refused to press charges against Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah for the Feb. 2 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Alvin Cole. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The American actress Jennifer Lopez in London on Thursday 7th November, 2024 to promote her film Unstoppable which will be released on Amazon Prime Video in January 2025. (Photo by Instagram)

English actress Danielle Harold shot exclusively for the Sun on Sunday, September 7, 2023 in London. (Photo by Olivia West/The Sun)

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.

American singer-songwriter Miley Cyrus attends the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, broadcast on Sunday, August 30, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Vijat Mohindra/MTV VMAs 2020/Vijat Mohindra/MTV VMAs 2020 via Getty Images)

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” costars Andrew Garfield and American actress and singer Zendaya reunite with a hug at the 2023 SAG Awards on Sunday, February 26, 2023, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

British singer-songwriter Rita Ora visits The Empire State Building on July 09, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Empire State Realty Trust)

English-Albanian singer and songwriter Dua Lipa soaks up Japan in the last decade of November 2023. (Photo by Dualipa/Instagram)