Kokeshi dolls these traditional wooden figurines were said to have been originally made as souvenirs to sell to people visiting the local hot springs in Northern Japan. Although there are about 10 different styles, each doll is made with an enlarged head and cylindrical body with no arms or legs.

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.

Shetland ponies wearing cardigan sweaters are the official ambassadors of Visit Scotland tourism campaign. Photographer Rob McDougall captured two cute ponies named Fivla and Vitamin dressed in traditional Fair Isle Scottish cardigans to celebrate the Year of Natural Scotland.Their onesies were made out of Shetland wool by a local knitter Doreen Brown. The ponies live at the Thordale Shetland Stud Centre.

A woman covers her face as men throw colored powder at her during “Lathmar Holi” at the village of Barsana in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh March 9, 2014. (Photo by Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters)

KALTENBERG, GERMANY - JULY 08: Actors dressed as knights perform during the traditional Kaltenberg knight tournament on July 8, 2007 in Kaltenberg, Germany. With around 120,000 visitors each year, the festival including knight tournaments, medieval styled markets and a variety of music performances, the event is one of the biggest of its kind. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

Men dressed as traditional Greek warriors participate in the annual Greek Independence Day Parade on Fifth Avenue on March 25, 2012 in New York City. It was the 191st annual parade which ran from 64th Street to 79th Street on Fifth Avenue and celebrates Greek heritage. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

Soma-Nomaoi is a festival that recreates a battle scene from more than 1,000 years ago. It is annually held for 4 days from July 22 to 25 in Haramachi City, Fukushima Prefecture, in the eastern part of Japan. In this historical event, 600 mounted samurai in traditional Japanese armor, with long swords at their side and ancestral flagstaffs streaming from their backs, ride across open fields. Soma-Nomaoi has been designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.

Photo: A young woman (C) clad in samurai costume leads other local poeple as she rides her horse during a parade at the annual Soma Nomaoi festival in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 28, 2012. The traditional full-scale festival kicked off for the first time after the accident of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant following the massive earthquake and the tsunami on March 11, 2011. (Photo by Toru Yamanaka/AFP Photo)

Indian School children's in a traditational attire of a characters of Indian epic Ramayan, on the eve of children's day celebration at cubbon park, in Bangalore, India, 13 November 2016. Children's day (also known as Bal Divas), in India is celebrated every year on 14th of November to increase the awareness of people towards the rights, care, and education of children. Many schools hold activities and allow students to have fun and attend their classes in coloured dresses. (Photo by Jagadeesh N.V./EPA)