Darth Mykolaiovych Vader, who is dressed as the “Star Wars” character Darth Vader, poses for a picture as he dries his mask and helmet with a hairdryer in the bathroom of his apartments in Odessa, Ukraine, December 2, 2015. Darth Vader was bent on galactic domination, but his Ukrainian namesake enjoys more mundane pursuits: local politics, walking the family dog and a spot of embroidery. The Ukrainian citizen, who has changed his name to Darth Mykolaiovych Vader, ran for the post of local mayor in October, his political backers dressed as Stormtroopers. In his trademark black outfit, he is a regular sight around Odessa, a major port city on southern Ukraine's Black Sea coast. (Photo by Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)

In this Wednesday, November 11, 2015 photo, one of the giant mechanical sharks that starred in the movie “Jaws” is seen at Aadlen Brothers Auto Wrecking, also known as U Pick Parts, in the Sun Valley section of Los Angeles. It's not just a junkyard or even a really big junkyard, but a living, breathing monument to Los Angeles pop culture. But the family business is closing on New Year's Eve, and everything must go by then, the cars, the shark, the arches, even the giant car-crushing machine. (Photo by Jae C. Hong/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.

Karolina Kurkova, Alana Zimmer, Valerija Kelava, Eniko Mihalik, Snejana Onopka and Iris Strubegger star in “Hairy Tales” a focus on mostly big hair styled by Luigi Murenu (hair style; Make-up: Karim Rahman) for «Vogue» Germany April 2012. Joanne Blades styles the editorial with Daniele and Iango behind the lens.

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

This artist's rendering illustrates the evaporation of HD 189733b's atmosphere in response to a powerful eruption from its host star. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope detected the escaping gases and NASA's Swift satellite caught the stellar flare. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)

A Sydney Aquarium diver uses a vacuum to clean the gravel in the Great Barrier Reef tank as a Ray Shark swims by September 26, 2006 in Sydney, Australia. The Aquarium is undergoing its annual spring clean to prepare for the school holidays using vacuums, along with sea creatures like Sea Cucumbers, Sea Urchins, Cleaner Wrasse Fish and Sea Stars to help complete the job. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)