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 security guard looks at the models during La Perla’s presentation at the Dream Hotel. Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, New York City, Spring 2014. From the series “Fashion Lust”. (Photo by Dina Litovsky)

Retired 90 year old Frank Foss of St. Petersburg, Florida, with his home made banjo, made from a frying pan, a length of wood and some strings. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 2nd July 1972

Belgian riot police officers are covered by hay and eggs thrown by demonstrators as farmers and dairy farmers from all over Europe take part in a demonstration outside an European Union farm ministers emergency meeting at the EU Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, September 7, 2015. Thousands of farmers gathered in the European capital calling for more help with low prices and high costs. (Photo by Jacky Naegelen/Reuters)

A lone protester sings outside the offices of Republican president-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, New York, U.S. November 14, 2016. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Spanish soldiers of the 7th Airborne Light Infantry Brigade “Galicia” fire a howitzer Light Gun L118 during maneuvers with other units in preparation to NATO's Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in Zaragoza, Spain, April 19, 2016. (Photo by Javier Cebollada/EPA)

A woman transports fodder for her cattle on a bullock cart on the outskirts of Ajmer, Rajasthan, January 6, 2017. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/Reuters)

In this September 16, 2017 photo, a music fan poses for the photo against an angel wings' mural at the Rock in Rio music festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Leo Correa/AP Photo)