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.

“Today, we take photography for granted. Anyone can take a photograph simply by pressing a button. Yet, it was not always so simple. The invention of photography was announced in 1839, but during its first fifty years taking a photograph was a complicated and expensive business. In 1888, all this was to change following the appearance of a camera that was to revolutionize photography. Popular photography can properly be said to have started 120 years ago with the introduction of the Kodak”. – The UK National Media Museum. Photo: Two men on the deck of a ship, about 1890. (Photo by Collection of National Media Museum/Kodak Museum)

A Brazil fan enjoys the atmosphere prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Semi Final match between Brazil and Germany at Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on Jule 8, 2014. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

South Korean university students prepare for an establishment ceremony of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) for female cadets at Sookmyung Women's University on December 10, 2010 in Seoul, South Korea. The South Korean defense ministry has agreed to admit women into it's college-based Reserve Officers' Training Program for the first time since the program began in 1963. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

A Russian trenchmortar crew run to take up a new firing position in the Stalingrad area during the Great Patriotic War. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). October 1942

“Dog fighting is a form of blood sport in which game dogs are made to fight, sometimes to the death. It is illegal in most developed countries. Dog fighting is used for entertainment and may also generate revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A bloody Afghan dog is bleeding with many wounds after he lost a dog fight November 24, 2006 in Kabul, Afghanistan. While the Afghan government is trying to ban the violent use of dogs for fighting, the unofficial sport remains a regular weekly event. Afghan dog fighting is popular among Afghan men who gamble on the dogs making upwards of 15,000 Afghanie (300 USD). (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Indian wrestlers Rashid Anwar (left) and Ajaib Singh in a training bout at Lane's Club in Baker Street London before the Empire Games, 19th July 1934. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Participants in costumes arrive at the Notting Hill Carnival in London, Britain, 29 August 2022. The Notting Hill Carnival is the largest street carnival in Europe and returned to London after two year break due to the coronavirus pandemic with more than a million people expected to attend the two-day celebration of Caribbean heritage on 28 and 29 August. (Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA/EFE)