East Berliners crossing into the West Berlin on November 11, 1989 at the Potsdamer Platz, Germany. (Photo by Kai Wiedenhoefer)

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.

An Afghan burqa-clad woman carries a child as she walks along a road in Herat on October 1, 2023. (Photo by Mohsen Karimi/AFP Photo)

A model poses with “The Wellbeing Toilet” the winning entry from a Dyno-Rod Initiative to create a new design for the domestic toilet at Central Saint Martins on November 18, 2013 in London, England. The concept was commissioned to mark 50 years of Dyno-Rod and World Toilet Day on November 19th, 2013 The “Wellbeing Toilet” looks at the health and wellbeing aspect of getting rid of your bodily waste by being sculpted to enhance the position of your body by enabling you to squat rather than sit. (Photo by Miles Willis/Getty Images for Dyno-Rod)

A policeman reacts during a clash with protestors during a protest against the proposed changes to France's working week and layoff practices, in Lyon, central France, Thursday, April 28, 2016. French protesters are back on the streets over proposed reforms to the country's labor rules and strikers have forced cancellations and delays at two airports serving Paris. (Photo by Laurent Cipriani/AP Photo)

Moroccans gather to celebrate Morocco's win over Spain in a World Cup soccer match played in Qatar, in Rabat, Morocco, Tuesday, December 6, 2022. (Photo by Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP Photo)

An Afghan girl rides a horse at the beach in Karachi, Pakistan, 07 September 2020. (Photo by Rehan Khan/EPA/EFE)

Mae Zelinsky, left, and Betty O'Beda test ammunition on a .30 caliber rifle at a Remington Arms plant on April 30, 1943. Many women took over jobs that were left vacant when men went overseas to fight in World War II. (Photo by AP Photo)