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.

Topless protesters from the organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) stand with “banderillas” filled with red powder as about 100 people rally in front of the town hall square in Pamplona, Navarra, northern Spain, demonstrating against the treatment of fighting bulls in the Fiesta de San Fermin, 05 July 2017. The renowned eight-day festival made famous by Ernest Hemingway's 1926 novel “The Sun Also Rises” has running-with-the-bulls and a bullfight each day for the fair, which begins at noon on 06 July 2017. (Photo by Jim Hollander/EPA)

Tourists watch illuminated snow sculptures during the 31st Harbin Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition on January 4, 2019 in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province of China. The 31st Sun Island International Snow Sculpture Art Exposition officially opened to public on December 29. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Protesters wear gas masks in the front of the Romanian Environment Ministry in Bucharest March 4, 2019, to demand better air. Dozens of people holding placards reading “Our children don't breath air anymore” gather in the front of the Environment Ministry to ask for better breathable air in Bucharest. (Photo by Daniel Mihailescu/AFP Photo)

This undated image provided by World View shows World View capsule and balloon spacecraft that will rise to 100,000 feet above Earth for passengers to see the curvature of the planet and the blackness of space. Space tourism companies are employing designs including winged vehicles, vertical rockets with capsules and high-altitude balloons. While developers envision ultimately taking people to orbiting habitats, the moon or beyond, the immediate future involves short flights into or near the lowest reaches of space without going into orbit. (Photo by World View via AP Photo)

Young migrants gesture during a day of solidarity organised by local organizations and resdients for asylum seekers at a makeshift camp outside the foreign office in Brussels, Belgium September 6, 2015. Over 150,000 people seeking to enter Europe have reached Hungary this year, most coming through the southern border with Serbia, and many apply for asylum but quickly try to leave for wealthier EU countries. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

An Iraqi Muslim woman walks past Christmas decorations for sale in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on December 17, 2015. (Photo by Haidar Hamdani/AFP Photo)

Members of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) demonstrate their skills on motor-bikes during the BSF Golden Jubilee Day celebration in New Delhi on December 1, 2015. (Photo by Money Sharma/AFP Photo)