Iran's Hanieh Rajabi performs during the women's Daoshu competition at the 13th Wushu World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, November 16, 2015. (Photo by Tatan Syuflana/AP Photo)

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.

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

Young man making the O.K. sign. (Photo by George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images). Circa 1950s

Law enforcement officers clash with protesters, Wednesday, July 20, 2016, in Cleveland, during the third day of the Republican convention. (Photo by John Minchillo/AP Photo)

Rebecca Bailey rides a unicycle during a winter nor'easter snow storm in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. February 9, 2017. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Figure Skating, ISU World Figure Skating Championships, Ladies Short Program, Boston, Massachusetts, United States on March 31, 2016: Ashley Wagner of the United States stumbles and falls while celebrating after competing. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)

A dirty thunderstorm occurs over Mount Sakurajima as the volcano erupts violently at 12:03 am on July 26, 2016 in Tarumizu, Kagoshima, Japan. The eruption occurred at the mountain's Showa crater. This is the first time that the active volcano in southern Kyushu has spewed out a smokestack that high since an eruption on August 18, 2013, according to the Kagoshima Meteorological Office. (Photo by The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images)