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.

Actress Lily Collins is seen filming on set of series 2 of “Emily In Paris” on May 4, 2021 in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France. (Photo by Arnold Jerocki/GC Images)

In this image released on December 09, English model Leomie Anderson and English model and actress Jourdan Dunn attend the 2020 MOBO Awards held at Exhibition London on December 07, 2020 in London, England. The MOBO Awards will be live-streamed on YouTube at 7pm and broadcast on BBC One at 10.45pm. (Photo by Michael Tubes/MOBO Organisation/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Former “The Hills” star Audrina Patridge and her on again, off again boyfriend Corey Bohan get into a huge fight after attending Matthew Morrison's Halloween Party at Hyde Nightclub in West Hollywood, California on October 25, 2014. Audrina and Corey, who recently split up this past summer, seemed to be in great spirits before the party started but afterwards it was a whole different story! The not so happy couple argued on a bench and at one point a visibly upset Audrina sat on the sidewalk crying! (Photo by FameFlynet)

Shoppers walk past crocodiles for sale at a market in Bata on February 3, 2015. Markets in Equatorial Guinea sell a variety of animals including pangolins, monkeys and crocodiles as food. (Photo by Carl de Souza/AFP Photo)

Aerial view of a farmer feeding ducks at a farm on November 6, 2020 in Sihong County, Jiangsu Province of China. (Photo by Zhang Lianhua/VCG via Getty Images)

Olga Carmona of Spain celebrates after scoring a goal during the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Final soccer match between Spain and England at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia, 20 August 2023. (Photo by Dean Lewins/EPA/EFE)

A professional training in explosive disposal is held in Nanning, Guangxi, China on 18th February, 2021. (Photo by Top Photo Corporation/Rex Features/Shutterstock)