Thousands of heavy-duty trucks loaded with coal are lined up for up to 130 kilometres from the Mongolia-China border on a sole road in the Gobi desert, Mongolia, October 29, 2017. The journey can take more than a week. (Photo by Bazarsukh Rentsendorj/Reuters)

Ashley Roberts in the last decade of October 2022 poses a pretty question as she models for online fashion site Quiz. The Pussycat Dolls singer and Heart Radio host, 41, is the new face of the brand and has collaborated on its partywear collection. (Photo by Quiz)

American actress Alexandra Daddario goes skinny dipping on vacation in the last decade of December 2022. (Photo by alexandradaddario/Instagram)

American model Emily Ratajkowski arrives at the British Vogue x Self Portrait Summer Party at The Chiltern Firehouse on July 13, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by David Fisher/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Japanese–British singer-songwriter and model Rina Sawayama, date unknown. (Photo by Press Handout for SFTW)

English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa preps for her performance at the Brit Awards with a vocal warmup early March 2024. (Photo by Dua Lipa/Instagram)

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.