US film star Elizabeth Taylor and her first husband Nick Hilton, of the hotelier family, on their wedding day.

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.

A rider demonstrates Lighting artist Bruce Munro latest installation “Star-Turn” at a one-night event in front of the Holburne Museum on December 21, 2011 in Bath, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Fort Bourtange is a star fort located in the village of Bourtange, Groningen, Netherlands. It was built in 1593 under the orders of William the Silent. Its original purpose was to control the only road between Germany and the city of Groningen, which was controlled by the Spaniards during the time of the Eighty Years' War.