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.

In this handout photo provided by Warner Brothers Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, Tom Cruise plays Lieutenant Colonel Bill Cage, a soldier who replays his last day while trying to fight aliens, in director Doug Liman's “All You Need Is Kill”. The film is set to premiere on March 14, 2014. (Photo by David James/Warner Brothers Pictures)

Debris fly into the air as foreign fishing boats are blown up by Indonesian Navy off Batam Island, Indonesia, Monday, February 22, 2016. Authorities on Monday sank dozens of fishing boats caught operating illegally in Indonesian waters as part of the country's campaign to battle illegal fishing. (Photo by M. Urip/AP Photo)

An Afghan woman fills containers with water near her temporary shelter at an internally displaced person's (IDP) camp on the outskirts of Herat, Afghanistan, January 21, 2015. Dozens of families are living in temporary shelters even in harsh winters and most depend on aid distributions by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (Photo by Jalil Rezayee/EPA)

A partially frozen Niagara Falls is seen on the American side lit by lights during sub freezing temperatures in Niagara Falls, Ontario March 3, 2014. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Reuters)

A radio-controlled flying witch makes a test flight past a moon setting into clouds along the pacific ocean in Carlsbad, California October 8, 2014. Reuters was invited to photograph the testing of the life sized device by inventor Otto Dieffenbach lll. (Photo by Mike Blake/Reuters)

Jo Jo performs at the Q102 s*xy Singles 2012 the at Hotel Palomar on January 26, 2012 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo)