Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps perform in the gala exhibition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing on December 10, 2023. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

An artist takes part in the festival “Statues en Marche” in Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium, July 20, 2019. Living statues are a common sight in many city centers, but it is rare to see such a diverse range of this peculiar form of street art for which performers must keep still for painfully long periods of time to create the desired illusion. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Athletes vie for the ball during the Mud Olympics in Brunsbuettel, Germany, 30 July 2016. Since 2004, amateur athletes have been competing in various events at the mouth of the Elbe river on the North Sea. The proceeds are traditionally donated to the Schleswig-Holstein Cancer Society. (Photo by Daniel Bockwoldt/EPA)

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.

Xochimilco – Island of the Dolls – Dead Line. Photo by Ramalama_22

A man rides a horse at a playground on a hill in Kabul April 19, 2015. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

Model Alessandra Ambrosio poses for photographers during the red carpet for the movie “Spotlight” at the 72nd Venice Film Festival in northern Italy, September 3, 2015. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/Reuters)

A muslim pilgrim walks through the site where dead bodies are gathered in Mina, Saudi Arabia during the annual hajj pilgrimage on Thursday, September 24, 2015. Hundreds were killed and injured, Saudi authorities said. The crush happened in Mina, a large valley about five kilometers (three miles) from the holy city of Mecca that has been the site of hajj stampedes in years past. (Photo by AP Photo)