American model Emily Ratajkowski are spotted arriving to the La Ligne dinner at the Hotel Barriere Fouquet in New York City on February 8, 2023. (Photo by The Image Direct)

A man fires a weapon as he dances during a traditional excursion near the western Saudi city of Taif, August 8, 2015. Saudis usually party in such excursions as they celebrate weddings or graduations. (Photo by Mohamed Al Hwaity/Reuters)

Figure Skating, ISU Grand Prix Rostelecom Cup 2016/2017, Ice Dance Short Dance, Moscow, Russia on November 4, 2016. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada compete. (Photo by Grigory Dukor/Reuters)

Students training to be flight attendants hold books on their heads, chopsticks in their mouths, and papers in between their knees, as they take part in a standing posture practice at a vocational school in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, China May 4, 2017. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

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.

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker perform during the short dance program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, N.C., Friday, Jan. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Figure Skating, ISU World Figure Skating Championships, Ladies Short Program, Boston, Massachusetts, United States on March 31, 2016: Ashley Wagner of the United States stumbles and falls while celebrating after competing. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

A person rides on a zip-line descending from the second floor of the Eiffel Tower on May 28, 2019 in Paris. The 800 meter crossing takes one minute at a speed of 90km/h. The zip-line will be opened from May 29 to June 2, 2019. (Photo by Francois Guillot/AFP Photo)