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.

Members of the public enjoy the sunny weather along the Brighton beach in East Sussex, United Kingdom on July 17, 2022. (Photo by Marcin Nowak/London News Pictures)

A person dressed as a zombie walks during the annual Zombie Walk in Mexico City, Mexico on October 21, 2023. (Photo by Quetzalli Nicte-Ha/Reuters)

Revellers watch as police officers dance in the street at the Notting Hill Carnival in west London, August 30, 2015. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

People watch as an acrobat rides his motorcycle around a circular track at an entertainment park set up outside a shrine in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on June 19, 2013. (Photo by Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press)

Participants in the 3rd Annual Amber Rose SlutWalk in Los Angeles, California. October 1, 2017. The event seeks to highlight issues such as: gender equality, ending rape culture, victim blaming and body shaming. (Photo by Ronen Tivony/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

An Afghan man works at a traditional yarn factory in Heart province, Afghanistan July 28, 2015. (Photo by Mohammad Shoib/Reuters)

Cracks are seen on one of the shrines at Swoyambhunath Stupa, a UNESCO world heritage site, after Saturday's earthquake in Kathmandu, Nepal April 28, 2015. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)