U.S. Corporal Stanley Suski, left, and Miss Tamako, a Geisha girl, whirl a bit of Jitterbug, in a bar, in Tokyo, Japan, on October 1, 1945. (Photo by AP Photo)

Demonstrators wear skull masks during an anti government protest, as Chile's President Michelle Bachelet delivers a speech inside the National Congress, in Valparaiso city, Chile May 21, 2016. (Photo by Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)

Model Juliana Paesthe (C) of Viradouro samba school participates in the annual carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome, February 15, 2015. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

First graders attend a festive ceremony to mark the start of another school year in Slaviansk, September 1, 2014. September 1 marks the start of a new academic year for students in Ukraine. (Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

A model backstage during day 1 of Aspen Fashion Week 2011 on March 13, 2011 in Aspen, Colorado.

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.