A firefighter holds a red panda (Ailurus fulgens) from its tail while removing it from a tree at a residential area in Kunming, Yunnan province, July 3, 2014. The animal was spotted in the residential area and was brought down from the tree after residents reported its sighting to the police, local media reported. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A pair of gloved hands are dwarfed by the furry paws of Boris the Polar Bear at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's animal health care hospital Saturday, February 23, 2013 in Tacoma, Washington. (Dean J. Koepfler/Tacoma News Tribune/MCT)

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.

Robot couple Xiaolan (L) and Xiaotao carry trays of food at a restaurant in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, China, May 18, 2015. The restaurant, which opened on Monday, has two robots delivering food for customers. The robots were designed as a couple, Xiaolan and Xiaotao, according to local media. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

A cadet lies on the grass after collapsing during a promotion ceremony at a police school in Bogota December 7, 2012. (Photo by John Vizcaino/Reuters)

The popular K-pop group Blackpink watch the fireworks at Etihad Park from the stage at the end of the show in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, February 4, 2023. (Photo by Live Nation Entertainment)

A red fox sits in front of a Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet on the grounds of the 2014 ILA Berlin Air Show, in Selchow near Schoenefeld, Germany, Thursday, May 15, 2014. The International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition ILA will take place from May 20 until May 25, 2014. (Photo by Patrick Pleul/AP Photo/DPA)

Soldiers take part in a drill during a heavy snow in Heihe, Heilongjiang province, February 26, 2014. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)