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.

Olivia Love-Hatlestad of Grayslake, IL., stands during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Philadelphia, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Democratic National Convention kicked off July 25. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Praia du Forte, Bahia. “This was the lead picture for a National Geographic story on Bahia, because it was both mysterious as well as a “geography” picture showing where the slaves arrived from Nigeria. Beach pictures seem like they should be easy to take, but for me they are actually quite difficult. Too easy to fall into cliche. When I saw the kid coming on the horse, I quickly ran to see if I could make something with a woman in a bikini that was not a bikini shot”. (Photo by David Alan Harvey/The Guardian)

A woman takes photos as Mount Agung volcano sends up another plume of smoke, seen from the Kubu subdistrict in Karangasem Regency on Indonesia's resort island of Bali on July 5, 2018. Mount Agung roared to life again on July 2, belching a plume of ash 2,000 metres (6,500 feet) high, as well as temporarily shuttering the airport and grounding hundreds of flights after erupting the week before. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

People wear masks to help guard against the Coronavirus in downtown Tehran, Iran, Sunday, February 23, 2020. On Sunday Iran's health ministry raised the death toll from the new virus to 8 people in the country, amid concerns that clusters there, as well as in Italy and South Korea, could signal a serious new stage in its global spread. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

Corey Jurgensen runs along East Henry Avenue wearing an inflatable unicorn costume. Jurgensen has been wearing the costume during runs several times a week to cheer up others during this time of isolation but finds it therapeutic for herself as well to run through her Seminole Heights neighborhood wearing a silly costume, Thursday, April 16, 2020 in Tampa, Fla. (Photo by Martha Asencio Rhine/Tampa Bay Times via AP Photo)

A boy poses with a butterfly on his face during a photocall to promote the “Sensational Butterflies” exhibition at the Natural History Museum in central London, on March 25, 2013. With around 400 live tropical butterflies and moths living in the temporary facility, visitors will get the chance to see them flying freely as well as looking for emerging butterflies at the hatchery window. Running from March 29 to September 15, 2013, the exhibition is housed in a structure in the museum grounds. (Photo by Leon Neal/AFP Photo)

The camera rolls as actors dressed as historical Chinese soldiers act as though they have been hit by artillery, during filming of “The Last Prince” television series on location near Hengdian World Studios near Hengdian July 24, 2015. Hundreds of well-trained actors and other professionals are available at the Hengdian World Studios. The well-organised team coordinate complicated battle scenes to satisfy the huge appetite for productions about the war against Japan. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)