A contestant prepares at the backstage before the Miss Transqueen India 2018 transgender beauty pageant in Mumbai, India on October 7, 2018. (Photo by Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters)

Miss India Manushi Chhilar (C) reacts as she wins the 67 th Miss World contest final next to France Aurore Andrée Raphaëlle Kichenin (R) and Miss Kenya Magline Jeruto (L) in Sanya, on the tropical Chinese island of Hainan on November 18, 2017. (Photo by Nicolas Asfouri/AFP Photo)

Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez, right, and Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach wait for the announcer to name the new Miss Universe at the Miss Universe pageant on Sunday, December 20, 2015, in Las Vegas. Gutierrez was incorrectly crowned before Wurtzbach was named Miss Universe. (Photo by John Locher/AP 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.

A South Sudanese model applies make-up during the Festival of Fashion and Arts for Peace in Juba August 9, 2014. (Photo by Andreea Campeanu/Reuters)

Honourable mention, Behaviour category. Toss the scorpion – Indian roller playing with its kill by Susmita Datta. The image was taken during an early morning safari drive at Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in India. (Photo by Susmita Datta/PA Wire/Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition 2017)

Salcomp players huddle at the center of the pitch of Arena da Amazonia after winning the Peladao amateur soccer tournament in Manaus, Brazil, Saturday, February 16, 2019. It is the team's second title, the first was in 2011. (Photo by Victor R. Caivano/AP Photo)

Actress Anya Taylor-Joy is seen outside “Good Morning America” on February 17, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Raymond Hall/GC Images)