Tracy Sarita celebrates the sunrise during the Burning Man 2015 “Carnival of Mirrors” arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, September 3, 2015. Approximately 70,000 people from all over the world are gathering at the sold-out festival to spend a week in the remote desert to experience art, music and the unique community that develops. (Photo by Jim Urquhart/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 internet has been awash with face swaps for years — here’s our contribution to the art of creating nightmares with Photoshop.

Models walk the runway at the Maria Escote show during Madrid Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2015/16 at Ifema on February 10, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

A feminist activist uses a slingshot during a protest against gender violence and patriarchy in Santiago on November 29, 2019. Furious Chileans have since October 18 been protesting social and economic inequality, and against an entrenched political elite that comes from a small number of the wealthiest families in the country, among other issues. (Photo by Javier Torres/AFP Photo)

American actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld is seen in the Meatpacking District on December 14, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)

Shoppers and commuters in Manchester wearing face masks on February 28, 2020, including plague doctor masks due to the Coronavirus crisis in the UK. (Photo by Mario Forshow/Cavendish Press)

Polish supermodel Anja Rubik attends the Saint Laurent show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2020/2021 on February 25, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Swan Gallet/WWD/Rex Features/Shutterstock)