Female bodybuilders compete in the annual Muscle Beach Championship bodybuilding and bikini competition at Venice Beach, California on September 7, 2015. Muscle beach Venice is one of two historic bodybuilding locations and took over as the most famous spot when the nearby Santa Monica Muscle beach was shutdown due to overcrowding. California Governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger used to be a regular amongst the many famous bodybuilders and actors who have trained there and still makes an occasional appearance. (Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP Photo)

Model Adriana Lima attends Madonna presents An Evening of Music, Art, Mischief and Performance to benefit Raising Malawi at Faena Forum on December 2, 2016 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for Raising Malawi)

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.

People dressed as zombies take part in a “Zombie Walk” parade in Athens, Greece, February 25, 2017. (Photo by Michalis Karagiannis/Reuters)

An Indian Hindu man dressed as Lord Shiva holds a lit candle in his mouth as he takes part in a religious procession ahead of the Maha Shivratri Festival in Jalandhar on February 22, 2017. Hindus mark the Maha Shivratri festival by offering special prayers and fasting to worship Lord Shiva, the lord of destruction. (Photo by Shammi Mehra/AFP Photo)

Men slide in the mud during the Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon Beach in Boryeong, South Korea, Saturday, July 22, 2017. The 20th annual mud festival features mud wrestling and mud sliding. (Photo by Ahn Young-joon/AP Photo)

This picture taken on October 20, 2016 shows students practising wushu at the Tagou martial arts school in Dengfeng. China is investing hugely in football training and has vowed to have 50 million school- age players by 2020, as the ruling Communist party eyes “football superpower” status by 2050. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP Photo)

A lioness drinks after being fed by senior keeper Glynn Hennessy at ZSL London Zoo on August 10, 2016 in London, England. Today marks World Lion Day which highlights the first global campaign to celebrate the importance and plight of lions worldwide. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)