Class of 2027 plebes climb during the Herndon Monument Climb at the U.S. Naval Academy, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Annapolis, Md. Freshmen, known as Plebes, participate in the climb to celebrate finishing their first year at the academy. The climb was completed in two hours, nineteen minsters and eleven seconds to complete. (Photo by Tom Brenner/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.

Jason Garcia poses as The Joker from Batman at the 2015 Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, July 9, 2015. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Reuters)

American actress America Ferrera poses for a photo on the red carpet at the 96th Annual Oscars held at Ovation Hollywood on March 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

American media personality, socialite and model Kylie Kristen Jenner and American model Kendall Nicole Jenner are launching a new joint makeup line in the last decade of March 2022. (Photo by Kyliejenner/Instagram)

Lindsay Heimbach goes airborne while sledding down a hill on Mt. Lemmon December 27, 2008. (Photo by James Gregg/Arizona Daily Star)

Dutch supermodel Doutzen Kroes during the 3rd ABOUT YOU Awards at Bavaria Studios on April 18, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Gisela Schober/Getty Images for ABOUT YOU)

In this Thursday, March 17, 2016 photo, 33-year-old Palestinian clown doctor Alaa Miqdad, left, entertains 3-year-old patient Yaqin Shawaf, who suffers from dialysis, in the department of kidney diseases at Al-Rantisi children's hospital in Gaza City. (Photo by Adel Hana/AP Photo)