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.

Cemetery workers lift a corpse from a coffin to a metal plate as they prepare the body for cremation at a cemetery in Maracaibo, Venezuela, November 27, 2019. Some overcome the financial burden of a relative's death by renting caskets, a cheaper option than buying one. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)

American media personality Paris Hilton looks flawless in her little black dress which she pairs with a leather jacket on Saturday, September 26, 2020. The heiress is joined by beau Carter Reum as they venture out to Nobu in Malibu for a romantic date night. (Photo by X17/SIPA Press)

Rescuers search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed residential building in Makongeni estate in Nairobi December 17, 2014. Three more bodies were recovered on Wednesday night from the building that collapsed in Makongeni estate in Nairobi, raising the death toll to four, Kenya Red Cross has reported. The residential building whose sixth floor was still under construction had allegedly not been cleared for occupation by the Nairobi City County and its owner has been missing since it collapsed. A search and rescue and rescue operation is ongoing for the unknown number of people still trapped under the rubble, Kenya Red Cross also reported. (Photo by Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

A dancer warms up along 34th Street while waiting to perform during a pre-taping of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in front of the flagship store in New York, Wednesday, November 25, 2020. (Photo by Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)

A model prepares backstage before during the Heaven Gaia collection show by Chinese designer Xiong Ying on day two of China Fashion Week A/W 2021/2022 at 751D.PARK on March 25, 2021 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Zhe Ji/Getty Images)

English singer-songwriter Dua Lipa early November 2022 shares “miscellaneous” photos from Japan. (Photo by dualipa/Instagram)

A resident receives a dose of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a rural village on December 01, 2021 in Aringay, La Union province, Philippines. The Philippines is rushing to vaccinate its population as it mulls making COVID-19 vaccination mandatory and amid the looming threat of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. The country, which has just approved booster shots for its adult population, launched a three-day national vaccination holiday on November 29 to December 1 with the goal of vaccinating at least nine million additional people. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)