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.

The student Patricia Vasconcellos de Almeida, 22, tried to kiss one of the military police who formed a cordon ostensibly in front of the building Fetranspor (Federation of Transport Companies), in Rio de Janeiro, on June 27, 2013. (Photo by Zulmair Rocha/UOL)

Swiss Alisha Lehmann, right, fights for the ball with Czech Republic's Jana Petrikova during the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 play-off 2nd leg qualification match between Switzerland and the Czech Republic at the Stockhorn Arena in Thun, Switzerland, 13 April 2021. (Photo by Alessandro Della Valle/EPA/EFE)

Wearing a mariachi hat, candidate Clara Brugada, who is running as a delegation leader under the ruling party Morena, smiles as she greets supporters on the last day of campaigning ahead of the June 6 mid-term elections, in the Iztapalapa borough of Mexico City, Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (Photo by Marco Ugarte/AP Photo)

Geology Professor Fetullah Arik takes measurements next to a large sinkhole on June 03, 2021, in Karapinar, Turkey. In Turkey’s Konya province, the heart of the country's agriculture sector, extreme drought conditions over the past two years are taking a heavy toll on farmers and the land. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Partygoers dance the night away on July 19, 2021 at Astoria Nightclub in Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom which opened its doors at 12:01am on Monday. (Photo by Paul Jacobs/Picture Exclusive)

Cheerleaders from the “All Japan Cheer Organization” perform in protective masks due to COVID-19, to cheer people up in front of Shimbashi Station, one day before the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan on July 22, 2021. (Photo by Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)

Kids play in water to cool off during the scorching weather of a heatwave at a River Landing splash park in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada July 2, 2021. (Photo by David Stobbe/Reuters)