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.

An Indian child artisan carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu God Ganesha at a workshop ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Chennai, India, Saturday, September 7, 2013. Ganesh Chaturthi, which begins from September 9, is celebrated as the birthday of Lord Ganesha who is widely worshiped by Hindus as the God of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune. (Photo by Arun Sankar K./AP Photo)

Canada-based photographer and graphic designer Ulric Collette came up with probably the coolest family photo shoot idea ever.

Supporters of Ratko Mladic wave flags with his picture and reading in Serbian “Serbian hero” during a rally organized by the ultra nationalist Serbian Radical Party in front of the Parliament building on May 29, 2011 in Belgrade, Serbia. Some 7,000 supporters of the former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic, who was arrested on Thursday in a village in Serbia after 16 years on the run, took to the streets of Belgrade, to hear speeches and protest Mladic's arrest. Mladic, who is facing extradition to the The Hague, is accused of war crimes, including the 1995 massacre of 7,500 Muslin men and boys in Srebrenica. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

A car passes through an area of the boardwalk hit by strong waves in Havana, Cuba, 05 February 2024. The Cuban Institute of Meteorology (Insmet) recorded strong gusts of wind of up to 104 kilometers per hour and strong waves in the west of the island due to a cold front associated with an “extratropical low”. (Photo by Ernesto Mastrascusa/EPA)

A hyena stands chained to its handler at a circus in Gabasawa, Kano State, Nigeria, July 27, 2021. Hyenas are often viewed as repulsive and sinister, partly due to their scavenging habits in the wild, but in northern Nigeria some men keep the creatures in their homes, display them at festivals and even use their dung to make remedies. (Photo by Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters)

Dancers perform during a rehearsal for the “2023 Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” at St. Paul the Apostle Church on Thursday, October 19, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)

Rohingya refugees stand outside of their refugee camp on February 11, 2017 in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been stuck in limbo at Indonesia's refugee camps as the plight of Myanmar's ethnic minority continues. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images)