A man helps his partner on the traditional costume as they visit to the Temple of Heaven during the last day of the week-long China’s National Day in Beijing, Thursday, October 7, 2021. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP Photo)

A poster of former President Donald Trump sits in the lobby as guests arrive for the Oakland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner on June 25, 2023 in Novi, Michigan. Trump is scheduled to speak at the dinner. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Animal rights activists from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in dinosaur costumes hold placards urging people to go vegan, ahead of Earth Day celebration, in Manila, Philippines, April 21, 2022. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters)

Adrienne Yip takes a picture of her Burmese mountain dog named “Walter”, beneath the cherry blossoms in peak bloom at the Tidal Basin with the Washington Monument seen behind, in Washington, DC, USA, 18 March 2024. Peak bloom, as defined when seventy percent of the cherry blossoms are open, is occuring this week. This year's peak bloom, beginning the 17th of March, is tied for the second earliest in history and is seen as a reflection of warming temperatures. (Photo by Michael Reynolds/EPA/EFE/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.

Actress and model Charlotte McKinney attends the grand opening of NightSwim at Encore Beach Club at Wynn Las Vegas on May 5, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for Wynn Las Vegas)

A police officer wearing a Balinese traditional mask, called celuluk, performs as the new coronavirus during a campaign to wear masks as a precaution against the virus outbreak at a market in Bali, Indonesia, Thursday, May 14, 2020. (Photo by Firdia Lisnawati/AP Photo)

Model Ashley Graham is seen walking in Soho on May 9, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images)