Labourers push wooden boards before carrying them to construct a temporary pontoon bridge over the Ganges river for the upcoming Hindu festival of Magh Mela in Allahabad on November 24, 2019. The Magh Mela is held every year on the banks of Triveni Sangam – the confluence of the three great rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mystical Saraswati – in Allahabad during the Hindu month of Magh which corresponds to mid January – mid February. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP 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.

In this photo taken on January 20, 2024 a tourist poses in front of incense sticks drying in a courtyard in the village of Quang Phu Cau on the outskirts of Hanoi. Families living and working in the “incense village” of Quang Phu Cau now also make sticks in yellow, blue and green, catering to visitors eager to snap shots for Instagram. (Photo by Nhac Nguyen/AFP Photo)

American drag queens Laganja Estranja and Morphine Love Dion perform at OUTLOUD Music Festival at 2024 WeHo Pride on May 31, 2024 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Sarah Morris/WireImage)

A Ukrainian serviceman fires a 2S7 Pion self-propelled gun during military exercises near the village of Divychky in Kiev region, Ukraine, October 21, 2016. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

Residents wearing masks rest in the shade near a graffiti of a dragon, Friday, May 27, 2022, in Beijing. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

American actress and model Bella Thorne risks it all for the brisket with a wild pink outfit in the first decade of August 2022. (Photo by bellathorne/Instagram)

People holding umbrellas under strong wind walk pass a crosswalk as tropical storm Ma-on passes Hong Kong, Thursday, August 25, 2022. (Photo by Anthony Kwan/AP Photo)