Photographer Howard Schatz had an idea: photograph actors in a series of roles and dramatic situations to reveal the essence of their characters. Such is the premise behind Schatz’s new book, In Character: Actors Acting (Bulfinch), which captures some of Hollywood’s most emotive stars in the act of, well, making faces. Ranging from Martin Landau (playing a husband at his 50th-wedding-anniversary party) to Natasha Richardson (pretending to be a rock star on the way to her high-school reunion) to Rosie Perez (at right), the ensemble in Schatz’s photographs—some of which are showcased here on VF.com—illustrate the extraordinary power of pure and spontaneous imagination. Enjoy the show. —JESSICA FLINT (Vanity Fair)

MARTIN LANDAU

You are a man: 1. Seeing a shooting on your quiet, tree-shaded block in Brooklyn. 2. Hearing the speeches at your 50th-wedding-anniversary party.

BILL PULLMAN

You are an actor: 1. Hearing from your agent that, after weeks of callbacks and readings, you got the part. 2. Hearing the next day that the director has changed his mind and wants someone else instead.

FRED WILLARD

You are: 1. A maximum-security-prison warden hearing that there’s a riot in C Block—two guards killed, four held hostage—and the ringleader is a multiple murderer serving four consecutive life sentences. 2. A desperate real-estate agent watching a buyer about to sign a contract for an overpriced white elephant: “Sign, don’t read; sign, don’t read … ”

DON CHEADLE
You are a man at a bar: 1. Overhearing another man telling his friend about your wife. 2. Realizing the conversation is actually about your sister-in-law.

DAVID PAYMER

You are: 1. A deli owner, late at night, handing the day’s cash to a crackhead pointing a gun at your chest. 2. A big-time Mob gambler sending one of your goons to pay a visit to a college basketball player who broke an agreement to shave points: “I don’t want the kid dead. Just make sure he never plays ball again. Am I clear?”

CHARLES S. DUTTON

You are: 1. A salesman back from a long road trip being welcomed by your wife in a particularly intimate way. 2. A small-business owner just realizing that your brother-in-law has been pocketing the profits. 3. A gambling addict, deep in debt to a ruthless bookie, urging your horse to pass the leader down the homestretch.

ELLEN BURSTYN
You are: 1. A fiftysomething veteran middle manager learning that a merger will cost you your job. 2. A high-school drama teacher watching the Academy Awards, hearing your name mentioned by an Oscar winner. 3. A woman scorned.

PATRICK STEWART
You are: 1. A man listening to your wife and daughter scream at each other at Thanksgiving dinner. 2. A middle-aged tax accountant told by a beautiful young colleague that you’re “incredibly sexy.” 3. A C.E.O. who knows that the compensation committee is going to O.K. your massive raise. 4. A struggling restaurant owner confronting two protection-racket collectors: “That’s it, you bloodsucking bastards, not one more penny!”

ALAN CUMMING

You are: 1. A four-year-old letting the family’s pet parakeet out of its cage. 2. A four-year-old shutting out your mother’s angry reprimand after the bird flies out the front door. You are: 3. A man imploring your partner to come with you to visit your parents. 4. A man betrayed.

NATASHA RICHARDSON

You are: 1. A woman beginning to wonder if the man you’ve been dating for a year is just stringing you along. 2. The former class weirdo, now a rock star, in your limousine on the way to your high-school reunion. 3. A computer whiz who hacked into your English teacher’s files and has just aced the final.