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 young Sikh boy shouts religious slogans during a procession ahead of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in Jammu, India, Wednesday, November 21, 2018. The birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism and first Sikh guru, will be marked on Nov. 23. (Photo by Channi Anand/AP Photo)

A picture made available on 07 March 2016 shows visitors petting and holding a Fennec fox, native to the Sahara, in the petting room at the Little Zoo Cafe, a business built to capitalize on Thais' love for exotic animals, and food, on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, 05 March 2016. The cafe boasts Fennec foxes, Meerkat, native to parts of Africa, Silver Fox, Raccoon and Chinchillas, along with a menu of Thai food and Cheesecake, among other sweet deserts. Nature is a faraway fantasy in the bustling exhaust-filled cement city of Bangkok, fuelling a demand to own and be close to exotic pets. The trend to be near to a species that was once wild, in a city environment, far from the natural setting, has drawn criticism but continues to grow. (Photo by Barbara Walton/EPA)

Going toe-to-toe, these fighting primates could give Floyd Mayweather a run for his money. The amazing images – captured by Australian tourist Julie Rathbone on the banks of the Zambezi river in Africa – show the pair engaging in a few fisticuffs. The Chacma baboons appeared to settle a disagreement by fighting – before a senior baboon plays referee and steps in to break it up. Nurse unit manager Julie Rathbone, 59, from New South Wales, was on a cruise down the river when she spotted the fracas unfolding. (Photo by Julie Rathbone/Caters News)

In this picture made available Thursday July 11, 2013 a zoo-keeper presents three of twelve ferret babies at Eekholt Zoo in Grossenaspe, Germany, Wednesday July 10, 2013. The ferret babies were born May 25, 2013. (Photo by Markus Scholz/AP Photo/Dpa)

Tiffany Noreuil at the Oregon Humane Society in Portland, Oregon, holds feline Hercules, a 20-pound stray whose girth got him stuck in a pet door while trying to plunder some dog food. (Photo by AP Photo)

See also: Large People

In this November 17, 2014 photo, Pancho, a domesticated huitia, confronts a camera, in Bainoa, Cuba. With their rope-like, dark tails, long front teeth, and whiskers that appear to be vibrating, huitias look like giant rats. They measure nearly a foot long (about 30 centimeters), with the largest ones weighing in bigger than a small dog. (Photo by Ramon Espinosa/AP Photo)

The Sphinx breed of cat “Adam vom Feisastern” of the German breeder Sabine Braeuer waits on a jury table during an annual International Pedigree Dog and Cat Show in Erfurt, Germany on June 10, 2012. (Photo by Jens Meyer/Associated Press)