Lightning strikes the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in downtown on June 12, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Model Georgia Salpa attends the UK Premiere of “A Good Day To Die Hard” at Empire Leicester Square on February 7, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by UK Press)

A man fires a weapon as he dances during a traditional excursion near the western Saudi city of Taif, August 8, 2015. Saudis usually party in such excursions as they celebrate weddings or graduations. (Photo by Mohamed Al Hwaity/Reuters)

Ng Sin Nee (L) and Lee Shin May (R) from Malaysia take pictures with the panoramic view of the city from the Sky Box at KL Tower, the world's seventh tallest telecommunications tower, in Kuala Lumpur on May 24, 2016. Officially opened on May 20, the Sky Box has been the latest attraction for tourists arriving to the Malaysian capital. It stands 300 metres above ground and can fit six people at any one time, and offers spectacular views of the Kuala Lumpur skyline, including the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP Photo)

Indian girls in traditional attire pose for photographs as they practice the Garba, the traditional dance of Gujarat state, ahead of Navratri festival in Ahmadabad, India, Saturday, October 3, 2015. Navratri or nine night festival will begin on October 13. (Photo by Ajit Solanki/AP Photo)

A model presents a creation made with chocolate by designer Wang Jingzhi and Maitre Chocolatier Roberto Rinaldini during the international exhibition of chocolate “Salon du Chocolat” in Milan, Italy, February 12, 2016. (Photo by Stefano Rellandini/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.

Villagers cry for their relatives who were killed in an earthquake during a funeral in Longmen village, in Lushan county in southwest China's Sichuan province, on April 21, 2013. Rescuers and relief teams struggled to rush supplies into the rural hills of the area after an earthquake left at least 180 people dead and more than 11,000 injured. (Photo by Associated Press)