Giant panda Xiao Qi Ji plays at his enclosure at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, Thursday, September 28, 2023. (Photo by Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

Children are engulfed by foam during the Bubble Show event in Beijing, China, Sunday, June 26, 2016. Thousands of residents enjoy colored foam churned out by machines along a running track at the event designed for children and parents' interaction. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Brazil's Victoria Chamorro failed to stop the ball during their women's classification 7th-8th place water polo match against China at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, August 19, 2016. (Photo by Sergei Grits/AP Photo)

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.

Cuban actor Ana de Armas seen attending Bond: No Time To Die – world film premiere afterparties on September 28, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

Actress Vanessa Hudgens attends Carolina Herrera SS20 during New York Fashion Week in New York City on September 9, 2019. (Photo by Christopher Peterson/Splash News and Pictures)