German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945) enjoys a quiet picnic between meetings, circa 1933. Picture 196 of a series of collectable images published in Germany during the Nazi period, entitled “Deutschland Erwacht” (Germany Awakes). (Photo by Heinrich Hoffmann/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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.

Wild Thang, a Pekingese competing in the 2023 World’s Ugliest Dog Contest sits in the waiting kennel before the start of the annual World's Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California, on June 23, 2023. Scooter was the winner of the 2023 World’s Ugliest Dog Competition. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/AFP Photo)

Content Creator Tina Lee poses for pictures during a media preview of Summit at One Vanderbilt in New York, October 1, 2021. The Summit viewing deck is spread across the top four floors on One Vanderbilt in Manhattan, the fourth tallest building in the city. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

A spent cartridge pops out of the rifle of Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, of Norway, during warmup before the Women 7.5 km Sprint competition at the Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof, Germany, Friday, February 10, 2023. (Photo by Matthias Schrader/AP Photo)

The Burney, a new streamlined car on the London streets, designed by Sir Denniston Burney who was responsible for the design of the R100 (R 100) airship. The engine is in the rear. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images). 15th September 1930

Three girls weep after they view a memorial for the rapper XXXTentacion, Wednesday, June 27, 2018, in Sunrise, Fla. The rapper was gunned down in a luxury sports car last week. (Photo by Brynn Anderson/AP Photo)

An Iraqi woman and foreigners use pair of compact discs as a filter to watch the partial solar eclipse in war-torn Baghdad, 29 March 2006. Without access to proper equipment to protect their eyes from the sun's rays, eclipse watchers in Iraq used makeshift filters. The moon blotted out the sun over northwest Africa early Wednesday, turning day into night in a total solar eclipse as it swept a shadowy path from the outer tip of Brazil to the steppes of Mongolia. (Photo by Hassan Ammar/AFP Photo)