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.

21 year-old Chanel Tapper, with the amazing tongue and 35 year-old Aevin Dugas, with the beautiful hair was certified as world record breakers for the world’s longest tongue and the world’s biggest afro in the Guinness Book of World Records. (Photo by Guinness World Records)

An Indian soldier from the international peace keeping force (IPKF) instructs young Sri Lankan recruits in shooting, part of the training given to the citizen's volunteer force in the North-Eastern Sri Lankan city of Batticaloa, September 28, 1989. (Photo by Barbara Walton/AP Photo)

In this January 7, 2017 photo, Judeley Hans Debel squats down to remove a boot from Tic Tac, holding out his prosthetic leg after his therapeutic riding lesson at the Chateaublond Equestrian Center in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Anne-Rose Schoen, who founded the equestrian center, said perhaps the most important thing about therapeutic riding is it makes youngsters happy in a country where disabled people face enormous challenges. (Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)

A fan cosplays as Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn during the 2017 New York Comic Con, Day 4 on October 8, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/WireImage)

Britain's Queen Elizabeth, second left, sits next to fashion editor Anna Wintour, third left, and Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council (BFC) as they view Richard Quinn's runway show before presenting him with the inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design, as she visits London Fashion Week's BFC Show Space in central London, Tuesday, February 20, 2018. (Photo by Yui Mok/Pool photo via AP Photo)

In this photograph taken on January 29, 2017, Afghan members of a wushu martial arts group led by trainer Sima Azimi (C), 20, pose for a photograph at the Shahrak Haji Nabi hilltop overlooking Kabul. Afghanistan's first female wushu trainer, Sima Azimi, 20, is training 20 Afghan girls aged between 14 – 20 at a wushu club in Kabul, after learning the sport while living as a refugee in Iran. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)

A woman participates in an insect-eating competition at a scenic spot in Lijiang, Yunnan province, China June 25, 2017. Insects have been a part of Yunnan cuisine for centuries, long before their potential as sustainable sources of protein caught the eye of the Western world. Bee larvae, grasshoppers and cicadas are just some items found on menus in the region. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)