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.

A woman gets ready for her performance at the backstage of the Heart restaurant in Ibiza on June 29, 2015. Take the Spanish chefs Ferran and Albert Adria, the Cirque du Soleil founder French Guy Laliberte and contemporary artists such as Japanese Takashi Murakami. Put them together on the luxurious Mediterranean island of Ibiza and shake well to get “Heart” an innovative multi-sensory experience. The idea of provoking emotions through a collision of avant-garde creativities appeared two years ago from Adria brothers and Laliberte's passion about art and cuisine. They met a decade ago at the famous restaurant El Bulli, closed in 2011. (Photo by Jaime Reina/AFP Photo)

A visitor stands in the exhibition “I Am A Drop In The Ocean” dedicated to the artistic and visual expressions of the protests that shook the Ukraine from November 2013 until February 2014 at the Kuenstlerhaus gallery in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, April 10, 2014. The exhibition opens its doors from April 11 until May 23, 2014. (Photo by Ronald Zak/AP Photo)

A man wearing a costume of the StarWars protagonist Din Djarin poses in front of a giant replica of the Razor Crest, a gunship from the StarWars spinoff series “The Mandalorian” used by the hit TV show's mysterious bounty hunter to roam the galaxy's outer reaches, in a park of the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk on March 14, 2021. (Photo by Evgeniy Sofroneyev/AFP Photo)

An Indonesian devotee cleans and purifies a holy statue of the Gods with tea, roses and cendana water at Suka Loka Tri Dharma Temple on January 26, 2022 in Surabaya, Indonesia. Countries around Southeast Asia are set to welcome a lively Chinese New Year, despite implementing strict health protocols as Chinese populations curtail celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first day of the Lunar New Year, on February 1, will usher in the Year of the Tiger. (Photo by Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images)

A demonstrator dances as riot police try to prevent LGBT rights activists gather for a Pride parade, which was banned by local authorities, in central in Istanbul, Turkey on June 26, 2021. (Photo by Dilara Senkaya/Reuters)

Young women walk through the cave of Saint George during Ashenda festival, at Saint George Church, in Lalibela, Ethiopia, on August 22, 2022. (Photo by Amanuel Sileshi/AFP Photo)

At a beauty contest to select the nation's Queen of Height during the first national convention of Tall People's Clubs in New York on July 29, 1949, little Charlie Young, only three feet, eleven inches tall, acting as judge, had a tough time making up his mind for the choice. The national minimum height requirement for women members is 5 feet 10 inches, and for men, 6 feet. (Photo by Robert Kradin/AP Photo)