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.

Thomas Thwaites of the United Kingdom accepts the 2016 Ig Nobel Prize in Biology for “creating prosthetic extensions of his limbs that allowed him to move in the manner of, and spend time roaming the hills in the company of, goats” during the 26th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. September 22, 2016. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

“Kilauea Rules”. The most extreme place we put ours kayakers to paddle till now. Photo location: Big Island, Hawaii. (Photo and caption by Alexandre Socci/National Geographic Photo Contest)

UK Love Island star Kady McDermott looked dressed to kill in her devilish Halloween outfit on October 28, 2021. (Photo by Instagram)

A participant poses with his laptop during the 33rd Chaos Communication Congress on its opening day on December 27, 2016 in Hamburg, Germany. The annual event is bringing together 12,000 computer hackers and activists who will meet over the next four days to share expertise and discuss topics related to the society and the digital world. (Photo by Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images)

Migrants bathe in the Huixtla River, Chiapas state, Mexico, Tuesday, October 26, 2021, as they take a day of rest before continuing their trek across southern Mexico to the U.S. border. (Photo by Marco Ugarte/AP Photo)

Souvenirs seller smiles during the street market of the “2021 Agrorus” international agricultural fair at the Expoforum exhibition centre in St. Petersburg, Russia, 02 September 2021. The Exhibition opens for visitors until 05 September 2021. (Photo by Anatoly Maltsev/EPA/EFE)

Performers in costume wait to take part in the carnival on the main Parade day of the Notting Hill Carnival in west London on August 29, 2022. London's Notting Hill carnival celebrates Caribbean culture, at a carnival considered the largest street demonstration in Europe. (Photo by Susannah Ireland/AFP Photo)