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.

A man passes by an unfinished street art graffiti made in a stairway by French street artists Zag and Sia in Paris on March 1, 2016. The two artists drew inspiration from famous “Liberty Leading the People” (La Liberte guidant le peuple) painting by French Eugene Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 and viewed as a symbol of the French Republic. (Photo by Joel Saget/AFP Photo)

Children play on an abandoned car near a protest, which is against the dissolution of Yemen's parliament and the Shi'ite Muslim Houthi militia's tightening grip on power, in the southwestern city of Taiz, February 13, 2015. (Photo by Mohamed al-Sayaghi/Reuters)

Women breastfeed their babies at an event promoting the freedom of mothers to breastfeed in public, during World Breastfeeding Week, at the Village Museum in Bucharest Romania, Saturday, August 6, 2016. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo)

A man rows a boat on the Dal Lake as a woman holds an umbrella during snowfall in Srinagar February 19, 2015. (Photo by Danish Ismail/Reuters)

Germany's Nikias Arndt, left, receives encouragement from a spectator during the men's elite road race at the world road cycling championships in Wollongong, Australia, Sunday, September 25, 2022. (Photo by Rick Rycroft/AP Photo)

A man uses a snow blower to clear a sidewalk during a winter storm ahead of the Christmas Holiday outside the Union Station, in Chicago on December 22, 2022. More than 2,200 flights were canceled across the United States by Thursday afternoon as a massive winter storm named Elliot upended holiday travel plans with a triple threat of heavy snow, howling winds and bitter cold (Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP Photo)

American actress, producer and director Eva Longoria arrives for the screening of the film “Emilia Perez” at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 18, 2024. (Photo by Antonin Thuillier/AFP Photo)