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.

Young man making the O.K. sign. (Photo by George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images). Circa 1950s

Russian riot policemen beat young PREGNANT female anti-Putin activist during a protest rally against the Presidential inauguration of Vladimir Putin on May 6, 2012 in Moscow, Russia.

A man holding a pet dog walks past blooming cherry blossoms along the Meguro river in Tokyo, Japan, March 27, 2022. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

A man looks at the body of a man killed at a residential building damaged by a Russian military strike, as a journalist looks at the scene in Kharkiv, Ukraine, July 11, 2022. (Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters)

Jil Belen Teichmann of Switzerland in action against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in her third round match on Day 6 at Roland Garros on May 27, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Coaches of the North-East Express passenger train that derailed late Wednesday near Raghunathpur railroad station in Buxar district of Bihar state, India, Thursday, October 12, 2023. The train was on its way to Assam state from New Delhi. (Photo by Aftab Alam Siddiqui/AP Photo)

This photo provided by the McKinney Fire Department shows officials at the site of a crash involving a small plane and a vehicle near Aero Country Airport, Saturday, November 11, 2023, in McKinney, Texas. Authorities say a small plane overshot the runway while trying to land at a Texas airport and struck a car that was driving along a nearby road, injuring one person. (Photo by McKinney Fire Department via AP Photo)