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 man dressed as Mr. Destructoid checks his mobile phone while gamers play a game at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, in Los Angeles, June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn

“Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 1883 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini leads his officers in a spirited run in full military regalia. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). Circa 1940

Armed Yemeni children sit in the back of a pick up truck with fighters loyal to Yemen's Saudi-backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in the Dar saad neighbourhood of the southern Yemeni city of Aden on May 10, 2015, as they continue to battle Shiite Huthi rebels. (Photo by Saleh Al-Obeidi/AFP Photo)

Refugee children play with a stuffed toy at a muddy makeshift camp at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the village of Idomeni, Greece March 15, 2016. (Photo by Alexandros Avramidis/Reuters)

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on the International Space Station 3 February 2015 during her Futura mission. Samantha is living and working on the Station as part of the Expedition 42 crew. Picture released on February 10, 2015. (Photo by ESA/NASA)

Tibetan monks dressed as demons attend the Beating Ghost festival at the Yonghe Temple, also known as the Lama Temple, in Beijing on March 19, 2015. The Beating Ghost festival, or Da Gui festival in Chinese, is an important ritual of Tibetan Buddhism and is believed to expel evil spirits and shake off troubles. (Photo by Wang Zhao/AFP Photo)

A man falls from an ox cart as he competes during an ox cart competition near U Bein bridge, in Mandalay March 22, 2015. (Photo by Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)