A trainer tries to convince a dog to jump over an obstacle during the Dog Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, September 18, 2016. Owner of the dog park and organizer of the animal event Marco Antonio Toto says his goal is to socialize humans and their pets while celebrating sports. (Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo)

Ranger trainees and trainee dogs simulate an ambush against rhino poachers at the Paramount Group Anti-Poaching training and K9 (canine) academy on November 26, 2014 in Magaliesberg, South Africa. One of the largest of its kind in Africa, the Academy will address the ever increasing need for training of Conservation Officers in anti poaching activities, wildlife contraband detection, specialist K9 solutions and Ranger K9 handler training – all of which have proven success rates in combatting and apprehending poachers and their activities. (Photo by Gianluigi Guercia/AFP Photo)

Tokio Hotel fan Jennifer poses with Bill Kaulitz wax figure at Madame Tussauds on September 30, 2008 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Florian Seefried/Getty Images)

Participants ride horses, hold spears and wear historic armoured suits of the Middle Ages as they compete during the Saint George international knight tournament in Moscow, Russia, May 3, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)

A woman takes a selfie in front of a Lunar New Year display featuring sheep at a shopping mall in Hong Kong, February 13, 2015. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters)

A pro-Russian rebel guards a captured former Ukrainian Army checkpoint outside Vuhlehirsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, February 5, 2015. The rebels have closed in around the town in a strategy they triumphantly refer to as the Debaltseve cauldron. Separatists recently burst through government lines in the rural settlement of Vuhlehirsk. (Photo by Vadim Braydov/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.

Belarussian rhythmic gymnast Melitina Staniouta takes a selfie as she has her make-up done in Minsk, May 29, 2016. Photos show her training and competing, as well as trying on her official Olympic uniform and getting ready for a photo shoot. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)