A Shi'ite Muslim man bleeds after tapping his forehead with a razor during a Muharram procession to mark Ashoura in Nabatieh town, southern Lebanon November 4, 2014. Ashoura, which falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammad, who was killed in the seventh century battle of Kerbala. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Reuters)

Couples kiss during a kissing contest in Wuhan, Hubei province, November 23, 2014. Some 20 couples attended the contest and the winners have been awarded an iPhone 6, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Runners high-five children cheering from the sidewalk as they begin the half marathon during the Ottawa Race Weekend, which returned from a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ottawa, Canada on Sunday, May 29, 2022. (Photo by Canadian Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

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.

A child rescued from Boko Haram in Sambisa forest is seen at the Internally Displaced People's camp in Yola, Nigeria May 3, 2015. Hundreds of traumatised Nigerian women and children rescued from Boko Haram Islamists have been released into the care of authorities at a refugee camp in the eastern town of Yola, an army spokesman said. (Photo by Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

Festival goers splash through a muddy puddle at Worthy Farm in Somerset, on the third day of the Glastonbury music festival June 27, 2014. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

Tribal artists and supporters from the southern Indian state of Karnataka dance outside the residence of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi during her birthday celebrations in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, December 9, 2015. The Italian-born Gandhi is the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and has led the Congress party since 1998. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)

Residents with faces covered in ash ride on a motorcycle as Mount Sinabung volcano erupts, in Sukandebi village in Karo Regency, Indonesia's North Sumatra province, Indonesia June 13, 2015, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. (Photo by Rony Muharrman/Reuters/Antara Foto)