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 cross Flagstaff Hill as the snow starts to fall, in Schenley Park, on their way to the Carnegie Mellon University campus, Tuesday, March 20, 2018, in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. Yet another powerful storm bore down on the Northeast on Tuesday, with wind-whipped snow falling in parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey as people grumbled and complained about a first day of spring that looked an awful lot like the last weeks of winter. (Photo by Darrell Sapp/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP Photo)

Nicki Minaj happily gives her to her loyal fans following her very emotional tribute speech to late rapper Juice Wrld at the Billboard Women in Music Awards in Hollywood, Thursday, December 12, 2019. In her speech, Minaj stated, “I know this is a Women In Music night and I'm so honored to be in the presence of all of these great women. It doesn't feel comfortable for me to talk about me when someone so important to our culture just died. I recently had the pleasure of working and touring with Juice Wrld...I felt like he was a kindred spirit”. (Photo by Perez/X17/SIPA Press)

Emmy Rossum strikes a pose as she displays ample assets as she continues her transformation into 80's Los Angeles billboard icon Angelyne on February 24, 2020. (Photo by PhamousFotos/Splash News and Pictures)

Super-cell thunderstorms, whirling tornados and lightning bolts illuminating the sky – these photos capture the terrifying brilliance of American storms. (Photo by Brandon Goforth/Solent News & Photo Agency)

“Early morning in Mandawa, rural Rajasthan: it was the morning of Diwali and the streets were swept by smiling women in brightly coloured sarees as I took an early morning cup of chai. Celebrations started later, when darkness fell”. (Photo by Hamish Scott-Brown/Guardian Witness)

Nicki Minaj shows off to the crowd on top of a music truck during the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, 26 February 2020. Minaj apologized on 26 February for her husband's behavior after a video showing Petty pushing a well-known local artist. The man had touched Minaj to allegedly encourage her in her performance. (Photo by Dexter Phillip via MoPho for London Entertainment/Splash News and Pictures)

A man takes a photo of a mural entitled “Thank goodness Silvia is here” (Meno male che Silvia c'è), representing former Italian prime minister and presidential candidate Silvio Berlusconi dressed as a woman, by Italian street artist Salvatore Benintende aka TvBoy, on January 21, 2022 in Milan. (Photo by Piero Cruciatti/AFP Photo)