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.

People carry bags containing their belongings past a burning residential block, caused by a recent shelling according to locals, on the outskirts of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine February 9, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)

Cattle keepers from the Dinka tribe perform a traditional dance after a prayer session for peace and good health along the route to Rajaf Payam outside the capital Juba October 18, 2014. (Photo by Jok Solomon/Reuters)

A pro-Russian rebel guards a captured former Ukrainian Army checkpoint outside Vuhlehirsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, February 5, 2015. The rebels have closed in around the town in a strategy they triumphantly refer to as the Debaltseve cauldron. Separatists recently burst through government lines in the rural settlement of Vuhlehirsk. (Photo by Vadim Braydov/AP Photo)

New York Islanders left wing Pierre Engvall and Columbus Blue Jackets Sean Kuraly (7) fight in the third period at UBS Arena on January 20, 2025 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Wendell Cruz/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters)

Anti abortion pregnant women attend a protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court as justices hear oral arguments in a bid by President Joe Biden's administration to preserve broad access to the abortion pill, in Washington, U.S., March 26, 2024. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

A pitch invader during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Final between France and Croatia at Luzhniki Stadium on July 15, 2018 in Moscow, Russia. p*ssy Riot claimed responsibility for the pitch invasion, tweeting: “Just a few minutes ago four p*ssy Riot members performed in the FIFA World Cup final match – «Policeman enters the Game»”. (Photo by Darren Staples/Reuters)

Health authority workers sanitise the rural community of Teocelo, Veracruz, Mexico on May 12, 2020 – in the hope of preventing the spread of COVID-19 infections. (Photo by Hector Adolfo Quintanar Perez/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)