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.

“On Friday, after something of a show trial, three young women in a Russian punk band were found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison for an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral earlier this year”. – Daniel Schwartz via CBC News

Photo: A woman wears on her chest the text “free p*ssy riot” as a demonstration by supporters of the jailed feminist punk band p*ssy Riot takes place outside the Russian Embassy on August 17, 2012 in London, England. The three women who staged an anti-Kremlin protest in a church in February, were found guilty today of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred, and could face a three-year jail sentence. Supporters are gathering in several cities around the world today as a mark of solidarity. (Photo by Dan Kitwood)

In this handout photo provided by Warner Brothers Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, Tom Cruise plays Lieutenant Colonel Bill Cage, a soldier who replays his last day while trying to fight aliens, in director Doug Liman's “All You Need Is Kill”. The film is set to premiere on March 14, 2014. (Photo by David James/Warner Brothers Pictures)

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

Women playing in the street as the snow falls on Johannesburg for the first time in seventeen years. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1st September 1962

A Hindu devotee lies on the banks of river Ganges she worships the Sun god during the religious festival of Chhath Puja, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Kolkata, India on November 20, 2020. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Drum queen of the Unidos do Viradouro samba school Erika Januza performs during the first night of the Carnival parade at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 23, 2022. (Photo by Amanda Perobelli/Reuters)

Afghan child stands in front of a makeshift shelter after an earthquake in Gayan village, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, Friday June 24, 2022. A powerful earthquake struck a rugged, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, flattening stone and mud-brick homes in the country's deadliest quake in two decades, the state-run news agency reported. (Photo by Ebrahim Nooroozi/AP Photo)