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.

Cheering The News of Germany's Surrender New Yorkers Gather around a youth wearing a mask of Adolf Hitler to cheer the news of the Surrender of Germany on May 7. The Crowd is gathered in times Square, New York. May 08, 1945. (Photo by New York Post/Photo Archives, LLC via Getty Images)

These stunning pictures show a normally vicious tiger calmly swimming in a pool of algae, on Jule 9, 2014. The powerful cat takes a refreshing break by taking a dip in the bright green algae. But it looks like this big cat is scared of getting his head wet as he strains to keep it above the water. After splashing around for a bit the tiger gets out and tries to air-dry with specks of the vegetation dripping off his fur. The striking pictures were taken at Copenhagen zoo by snapper Soren Lundgren Neilson. (Photo by Soren Nielsen/Caters News)

People wait in line to pay their last respects to the late Fidel Castro in Havana, Cuba, Monday, November 28, 2016. Cuba's government has declared nine days of national mourning following Castro's death on Nov. 25. (Photo by Fernando Medina/AP Photo)

Models present Victoria Secret Fantasy Bras priced at $2 million each during a media preview of the Singapore JewelFest in Singapore October 8, 2015. The festival which is in its 13th year, sees over 42 Asian designers participating and over $300 million worth of jewels for sale. It opens from October 9 to 18. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

Catholic pilgrim Matilde Madalena de Jesus crawls on a rocky trail carrying a bottle of water on her head during the annual pilgrimage of the dead (Romaria dos Finados), in the city of Juazeiro do Norte, Ceara state, in Brazil October 31, 2016. (Photo by Ueslei Marcelino/Reuters)

A chicken is seen next to the body of a woman killed by unknown gunmen at the market in a port area of Manila, Philippines October 28, 2016. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs and other crimes took he office on June 30 has claimed 4,447 lives, according to official figures made available by police on November 10. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A little girl takes a picture of a lion in the zoo in Frankfurt, Germany, Tuesday, September 13, 2016. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)