Aleksandra Krunic, of Serbia, drops to the court after defeating Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, during the third round of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament, Saturday, August 30, 2014, in New York. (Photo by Kathy Willens/AP Photo)

A reveller from Unidos da Tijuca samba school performs during the first night of the Carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on March 4, 2019. (Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters)

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.

Actors reenact the famous picture of a sailor kissing a nurse on the 70th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day, near a replica sculpture in New York's Times Square August 14, 2015. The replica is being displayed to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the iconic photograph of the most famous kiss in American history that was captured between an American sailor and nurse on August 14, 1945, marking the end of World War Two. The actors are hired by a tour bus company to pose for groups to photograph. (Photo by Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

An urban fox walks alongside the Mall in central London, Britain, November 29, 2016. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

Female indigenous players vie for the ball during the final match of Peladao, the amateur football tournament, in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, on November 24, 2013. Peladao is known as the biggest amateur football tournament in the world, with more than 1000 teams competing in various categories since 1973. The indigenous category was created in 2005 and eight teams participated this year. (Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP Photo)

Members of the Uniao da Ilha do Governador Samba School perform during the first day of the Special Group Samba Schools parade of Carnival at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 07 February 2016. (Photo by Luiz Eduardo Perez/EPA)

Barcelona-based visual effects/3D animation company Big Lazy Robot brings us a beautiful animated video that uses an alternate robotic world to satirize our dependence on technology.