A woman aims a World War II machine gun at a military show during celebration of the Defenders of the Fatherland Day in St.Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, February 23, 2016. The day, celebrated in Russia on February 23, honors the nation's military and is a nationwide holiday. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/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.

School students attend a pioneer induction ceremony in Moscow's Red Square in Moscow, Russia on May 22, 2022. Pro-Communist Russians are trying to preserve the Young Pioneers, which used to be the Communist league for pre-teens in the Soviet Union. (Photo by Sergei Karpukhin/TASS)

One month-old endangered Bornean Orang Utan sleeps on his mother named Miri on Wednesday, March 6, 2013, in Singapore. The Singapore Zoo is renowned for its flagship animal, the Orang Utan, and exhibits both the endangered Bornean and critically endangered Sumatran sub-species in a social setting. It is also known for its efforts in promoting and educating the public about the importance of wildlife conservation through its educational programs and breeding of these endangered species. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)

Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny (C), reacts as the court delivers the verdict in his trial, in the city of Kirov, Russia, 18 July 2013. Alexei Navalny was sentenced to five years in jail for theft on Thursday, an unexpectedly tough punishment which supporters said proved President Vladimir Putin was a dictator ruling by repression. (Photo by Valentina Svistunova/EPA)

Onati Basque dancers go airborne as they perform Basque traditional dances while making their way to the front of Saint Mark's Catholic Church, Saturday, August 1, 2015, in Boise, Idaho. The annual Mass, conducted in English and Basque, was held at the church for the first time. (Photo by Kyle Green/Idaho Statesman via AP Photo)

Infantrymen of the US First Army shake hands with Russian soldiers on the broken bridge over the Elbe after the link-up at Torgau, Germany. The US soldiers are (L-R): Pfc. John A Metzger, Delbert E Philpott, and Pvt. Thomas B Summers; all are from A Company, 271st Regiment. (Photo by Allan Jackson/Getty Images). 04-1945

A Sikh warrior, wearing a huge turban attends the annual fair of “Hola Mohalla” in Anandpur Sahib, in the northern Indian state of Punjab, Monday, March 17, 2014. Believers from various parts of northern India collect at the religious fair to celebrate the festival of Holi in a tradition set by the tenth Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh in the seventeenth century. Nihangs, or Sikh warriors, display their martial skills and attire during the fair, believed to be maintained in the exact tradition as set by the Guru. (Photo by Altaf Qadri/AP Photo)