Opposition students march against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas February 12, 2015. Venezuelan troops blocked students during marches against Maduro on Thursday as pro-government supporters also rallied on the anniversary of 2014 protests that led to 43 deaths. In Caracas, troops cordoned off scores of students on an unauthorized march to a church where they planned a mass in honour of demonstrators who died. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

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.

Girls sit inside an empty classroom as they pose for a photograph during a celebration marking the end of the school year in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria May 21, 2016. (Photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters)

Miesha Tate, UFC women's bantaweight shows the media how to fight during a UFC press conference at Akasaka Garden City on August 26, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)

A man takes a picture of sea spray as storms hit Cape Town, South Africa, June 7, 2017. (Photo by Mike Hutchings/Reuters)

DJ Evans Mireku Kissi (R) and fashion stylist Daniel Quist ride a motorcycle in front of a street side bar in Accra, Ghana. June 10, 2015. Young artists in Ghana's capital have evolved a new style that is turning heads and challenging accepted notions of African fashion. (Photo by Francis Kokoroko/Reuters)

Attendees look at Volkswagen's BUDD-e, a long distance electric vehicle, displayed during a press event at CES 2016 at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on January 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs from January 6-9 and is expected to feature 3,600 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 150,000 attendees. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)