Russia's synchronised swimming duet Aleksandr Maltsev (L) and Darina Valitova compete in the Mixed Duet Technical preliminary during the synchronised swimming competition at the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan on July 25, 2015. (Photo by Christophe Simon/AFP 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.

Music fans attend Day 1 of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2011 held at the Empire Polo Club on April 15, 2011 in Indio, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

“Custer” the smallest car in the US. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 1920

A sloth peeks out from behind a door on a floating house in the “Lago do Janauari” near Manaus, Brazil, Tuesday, May 20, 2014. Manaus is one of the host cities for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. (Photo by Felipe Dana/AP Photo)

This female orangutan was born at the zoo in the German capital of Berlin. German online users have fallen in love with Berlin Zoo's most recent addition – this newborn orangutan. The female orangutan was born in the early hours of 12th January at the zoo in the German capital of Berlin and weighed a tiny 1.8 kilograms, normally regarded as small for an orangutan baby but nevertheless the infant is healthy and strong. (Photo by Europics/Zoo Berlin)

A donkey savors warming temperatures after a long winter at the zoo in Warsaw, Poland, on Wednesday, April 8, 2015. (Photo by Czarek Sokolowski/AP Photo)

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)