A Saudi woman holds a falcon as she participate for the first time in the 2nd Saudi Falcons and Hunting Exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 16, 2019. (Photo by Ahmed Yosri/Reuters)

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.

Protester Nadine Wolf demonstrates against the proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) outside the offices of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) on January 18, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A tamed hawk sits on a chair next to a participant during a traditional hunting contest in Almaty, Kazakhstan on December 1, 2018. (Photo by Pavel Mikheyev/Reuters)

Spain's acting acting Minister of Labor and Sumar MP Yolanda Diaz (Front-C) takes her seat at the Lower House in Madrid as they attend the Constitutive Session of the Lower House for the 15th legislature in Madrid, Spain, 17 August 2023. The Upper and Lower chambers celebrate their Constitutive Session for the 15th legislature after the general elections that took place last 23 July 2023. (Photo by Juan Carlos Hidalgo/EPA)

A dramatic sunset acts as a backdrop to Stonehenge on November 20, 2008 in Stonehenge, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Members of the Dominican Armed Forces participate in a commemorative act on the 170th anniversary of national independence at the esplanade of Santo Domingo, on February 27, 2014. (Photo by Orlando Barria/EPA)

“Leopard Hunting a Stork”. “One-shot capture. I watched the leopard stalking the stork, I only had time to focus at 400mm, no time to change to high speed, I watched the stork, and as soon as it flapped its wings, I shot one shot”. (Photo by Paul Rifkin/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)