Young men play basketball on an improvised court wedged between a construction site and the shells of once grand colonial homes in Havana, July 20, 2015. As much as the young in Cuba welcome political opening and economic reform, such changes are unlikely to filter down to their lives anytime soon. (Photo by Meridith Kohut/The New York Times)

Baloo (R), a North American Black Bear, rubs snouts with his companion Shere Hkhan, a Bengal tiger, inside their shared enclosure at Noah's Ark animal sanctuary in Locust Grove, Georgia, USA, 28 August 2014. According to the facility, the pair and a lion named Leo, were confiscated at a young age from a drug dealer's basement in Atlanta, Georgia. Noah's Ark cares for about 100 different species of animals on a 250 acre farm since 1990. (Photo by Erik S. Lesser/EPA)

Graduating cadets throw their hats in the air in celebration during the commencement ceremony for graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., May 30, 2024. (Photo by Kevin Mohatt/Reuters)

Jolon Clinton, 15, (L), and her sister, Halcy, 17, take photos of a fissure near their home on the outskirts of Pahoa during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, U.S., May 14, 2018. (Photo by Terray Sylvester/Reuters)

The picture dated September 19. 2024 shows a female Kingfisher feeding on small fish near Lancaster, UK. Kingfishers need to eat regularly and eat their own bodyweight in food each day. They primarily eat fish, such as minnows, and when they spot a fish they dive headfirst into the water and seize it with their sharp bills. (Photo by Brendan McGee/Bav Media)

Rishikis from Japan's Sumo Kyokai, Daisuke Kitanowaka, right, and Akira Fukutsuumi pose for a photo call outside of London's Royal Albert Hall in London, Wednesday, December 4, 2024 where the UK's second ever official basho will take place in October of next year. (Photo by Thomas Krych/AP Photo)

Class of 2027 plebes climb during the Herndon Monument Climb at the U.S. Naval Academy, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Annapolis, Md. Freshmen, known as Plebes, participate in the climb to celebrate finishing their first year at the academy. The climb was completed in two hours, nineteen minsters and eleven seconds to complete. (Photo by Tom Brenner/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.