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 amazing art of dancing is captured by the lens of Bertil Nilsson, who draws inspiration from movement and human body, creating a final spectacular result. The London-based photographer and filmmaker has worked closely with dancers and circus artists for five years throughout Europe and North bringing out an inspiring project, all gathered in his book Undisclosed: Images of the Contemporary Circus Artist.

Encyclopedia Britannica editions are seen at the New York Public Library on March 14, 2012 in New York City. Encyclopedia Britannica announced it will be ceasing its print edition of reference books for the first time in its 244-year history to focus solely on digital versions. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Ultra Orthodox Jews celebrate the Jewish holiday of Purim on March 8, 2012 in Benei Brak, Israel. The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire 2,500 years ago, as described in the Book of Esther. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

“Animals take on human characteristics in this photo series by Davide Luciano. Davide’s goal was to achieve personification of these animals’ body parts without the use of motion. Using photography’s ability to manipulate time, Davide presents a snippet of these creature “active” lives by photographing a process, thus creating the illusion of life in these lifeless animal limbs. Recreating the uncomfortable into quizzical and whimsical photos that are bold, colorful, and always comical and satirical”. (Photos and caption by Davide Luciano)

In order to capture the attention of the public some artists hone their skills, trying to create the ultimate masterpiece that will bring them fame and glory. Others, however, resort to simpler techniques. For example, a French photographer Sacha Goldberger simply combined characters out of Marvel Comics and Star Wars with the fashion of the Elizabethan era and the style of classical Flemish paintings. The results are nothing more than a joke, especially since the main accessory that was placed on each of the characters is the Elizabethan ruff, while everything else remained practically the same. (Photo by Sacha Goldberger)

The personal project of Michael Turner features a whole range of different DC and Marvel characters. Each of the posters in this project is created using only two colors, which immediately remind us of the character that is being shown. Despite the minimalistic style, the characters can be instantly recognized by their key features. These pictures might look good as posters; however, in our opinion they would look even better as T-shirt designs. Any fan of DC and Marvel comics would simply love having a T-shirt with their favorite character depicted on it. (Photo by Michael Turner)

Afghans shout anti-U.S. slogans as they burn tires and block a highway during a protest in reaction to a small American church's plan to burn copies of the Quran, at Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, September 10, 2010. Religious and political leaders across the Muslim world welcomed a decision by the church to suspend its plans to torch copies of their holy book but some said Friday the damage has already been done. (Photo by Rahmat Gul/AP Photo)