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.

The Dynasphere, an electrically-driven wheel, invented by Mr. J. A. Purves of Taunton and his son. It had 2.5 horse power and once attained a speed of 25 mph. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 1932

A masked Burundian protester faces soldiers in front of a burning barricade during an anti-government demonstration against President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid for a third term in the capital Bujumbura, Burundi, 25 May 2015. Street protests continued on 25 May as the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the killing of the leader of the oppsition party Union for Peace and Development (UPD) Zedi Feruzi who opposed Nkurunziza's bid. (Photo by Dai Kurokawa/EPA)

Mermaid Hales Parcells geets children as she performs at the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach, Va., Monday, April 3, 2017. The Aquarium presents a mermaid show one night each week during the month of April. (Photo by Steve Helber/AP Photo)

Hotel staff practice self-defence skills after a training session given by team member of Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, April 7, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Angele Blank, right, and Virginia Promeyrat wait for the start of the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, Saturday October 31, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Tina Fineberg/AP Photo)

Germany's Wolfgang Kimmig-Liebe, who has been volunteering as Santa Claus for years, is searched by a Carabiniere paramilitary police officer before entering in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican to attend Pope Francis general audience, Wednesday, December 2, 2015. (Photo by Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo)

Young gymnasts practice pull-up on a bar at a gymnasium of a sports school in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province April 11, 2015. (Photo by William Hong/Reuters)