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 mannequin wearing a face mask and nurse's uniform stands next to a sign supporting the NHS, stands in a field during the Covid-19 pandemic on October 06, 2020 in Northwich, United Kingdom. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Dancer and musician Seira Soraya, plays the trumpet near Bow Bridge in Central Park on November 09, 2020 in New York City. Soraya has been out of work due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and is using this time to work on a personal project. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

Clouds reflect off the water as they pass over while SpaceX prepares their super heavy-lift Starship SN8 rocket for a test launch this week at the company's facilities in Boca Chita, Texas, U.S. December 1, 2020. (Photo by Gene Blevins/Reuters)

Sеx worker Geraldine, wearing cat make-up, excitedly holds up a dress she is thinking of buying from a street vendor, so that her partner, sitting nearby to keep her company, can see it, as she waits for clients outside the Revolution subway station, in Mexico City, Saturday, March 13, 2021. According to Geraldine, 30, the pandemic has cut clients and increased risks to the sеx workers but has also brought out more assistance for them too, both from dedicated organizations such as the activist group Brigada Callejera or “The Street Brigade” and from individuals who have donated food or clothing. (Photo by Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo)

A blue tit takes umbrage at a wing mirror at Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s Arger Fen & Spouse’s Vale reserve in United Kingdom on April 16, 2021. (Photo by Angela Lord/Triangle News)

American actress and model Megan Fox stuns in a lace crop top and matching stockings in Manhattan, New York as she strolled to a business meeting on September 12, 2021. (Photo by Rex Features/Shutterstock)

People look up at a dead body hanged by the Taliban from a crane in the main square of Herat city in western Afghanistan, on Saturday September 25, 2021. A witness told The Associated Press that the bodies of four men were brought to the main square and three of them were moved to other parts of the city for public display. The Taliban announced in the square that the four were caught taking part in a kidnapping and were killed by police. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)