Alessandra Perilli, of San Marino, competes during the trap women's qualification at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, August 7, 2016. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AP Photo)

A Syrian man rides his bicycle past a man selling grains during a halt in fighting on February 29, 2016 in Douma, in the Eastern Ghouta region, east of the capital Damascus. A UN-backed ceasefire deal took hold across parts of Syria, bringing relative calm to areas where the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda's local affiliate are not present. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP Photo)

A picture made available on 09 September 2015 shows traditional mud men dancers from the Asaro District of Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea perform for the official opening of the Pacific Islands Forum in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 08 September 2015. The Pacific Islands Forum goes from 07 to 11 September and discusses the regions vulnerability to Climate Change. (Photo by Mick Tsikas/EPA)

Disguised revellers parade on the occasion of the Cortege during the Carnival in Basel, Switzerland, February 17, 2016. (Photo by Georgios Kefalas/EPA)

A young Indian girl dressed as Hindu goddess Laxmi participates in a procession to mark “Gudi Padwa”, or Maharashtrian New Year, in Mumbai, in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Friday, April 8, 2016. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)

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.

Two models sit in an acrylic “ZF-Car” from the German manufacturer of the same name at the Automechanika automotive service industry trade fair in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 12 September 2016. The Automechanika Fair runs from 13 to 17 September 2016. (Photo by Boris Rössler/EPA)