An artist is seen preparing during the Kramatorsk tent show in Kramatorsk, Ukraine on August 29, 2021. Traditional tent shows are still very popular in the twenty first century among Ukrainian people of all ages. (Photo by Andriy Andriyenko/SOPA Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

American rapper Cardi B poses for a photo during Hot 97 Summer Jam 2021 at Met Life Stadium on August 22, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

The MS Princess Seaways battles through the waves off Tynemouth pier as gale force winds hit the North east UK on September 25, 2020. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images)

Three white tigers cub born on January 05, 2020 stand beside their mother Orissa at the zoological park of Amneville, northeastern France, on March 9, 2020. (Photo by Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP Photo)

The Frecce Tricolori perform over a deserted Via del Corso on Liberation Day following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Rome, Italy, April 25, 2020. (Photo by Remo Casilli/Reuters)

Aurorae category runner-up: Lone Tree under a Scandinavian Aurora by Tom Archer (UK). The photographer decided to explore the area around the hotel on a very crisp -35C evening in Finnish Lapland. When he found this tree, he decided to wait for the misty conditions to change and could not believe his luck when the sky cleared and the aurora came out in the perfect spot. Archer spent about an hour photographing it before his camera started to lock up because of the harsh conditions, but by then he was happy to call it a night. (Photo by Tom Archer/2020 Astronomy Photographer of the Year)

This picture taken on January 25, 2015 shows a participant taking part in an ice water challenge in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan province. Participants were required to stay in an ice pond, holding an ice block while eating ice-cream with an electric fan blowing at them. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

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.