Hospitality staff members laugh as they stand on Tiananmen Square before the closing ceremony of China's 19th Party Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Tuesday, October 24, 2017. The ruling Communist Party on Tuesday formally lifted Xi Jinping's status to China's most powerful ruler in decades, setting the stage for the authoritarian leader to tighten his grip over the country while pursuing an increasingly muscular foreign policy and military expansion. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)

An old car passes by while dark clouds are seen due to the tropical storm Idalia in Havana, on August 28, 2023. (Photo by Yamil Lage/AFP Photo)

“People of the River”. This is a Karo tribe family; father, mother, two sisters and two brothers. The tribe, who live along the Omo River in east Africa, incorporate rich symbolism into their rituals by using ornate body art, headdresses and body scarification to express beauty and significance. (Photo by Jatenipat Ketpradit/International Portrait Photographer of the Year)

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.

Fireworks are seen above the Washington Monument and the White House at the conclusion of the final day of the Republican National Convention on August 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence accepted the nomination as the Republican candidates for a second term in the White House. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

A photo from Madonna’s high school yearbook at her childhood home in Rochester, Michigan, circa 1973. (Photo by Rebel Images/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Alee Harrison, 13, wears the tv series “Doctor Who” on her legs as she works on a painting for Operation Blue Pride. (Photo by Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post)

An otter reaches for a snack from a customer at an otter cafe in Tokyo. Asian small-clawed otters are increasingly popular as novelty pets, particularly in Japan. Now international trade in the species may be banned. (Photo by Noriko Hayashi/The New York Times)