Some Iraqi candidates for Miss Iraq beauty contest pose in front of the Ishtar Gate at the ancient archaeological site of Babylon, outside the modern city of Hilla, south of the capital Baghdad on December 17, 2015. The beauty contest, which is the first one in more than 40 years, aims to boost tourism in the city and will take place on December 19, 2015. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP Photo)

A Russian prisoner eating bread. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Finland, circa 1940

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.

In this August 28, 1963 file photo, the top of the Washington Monument and part of a U.S. flag are reflected in the sunglasses of Austin Clinton Brown, 9, of Gainesville, Ga., as he poses at the Capitol where he joins others in the March on Washington. (Photo by AFP Photo)

A young girls holds a ballot during the Greek referendum in Athens on July 5, 2015. Greek voters headed to the polls today to vote in a historic, tightly fought referendum on whether to accept worsening austerity in exchange for more bailout funds, in a gamble that could see it crash out of the euro. (Photo by Aris Messinis/AFP Photo)

A group of costumed fans attend Comic-Con International at San Diego Convention Center on July 12, 2015 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)

A ten days old South American sea lion pup sits next to its mother Lunita at the “Tiergarten Schoenbrunn” Zoo in Vienna, Austria, July 28, 2015. The pup was born in the zoo and weighs about 14 kilograms (30 pounds). (Photo by Leonhard Foeger/Reuters)