Shiite Muslims gather, albeit in fewer numbers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at the Imam Ali shrine in the central Iraqi holy city of Najaf late on May 16, 2020, to mark Lailat al-Qadr, a night in the holy month of Ramadan during which the Koran was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammed in the seventh century. Worshippers placed copies of the Koran on their heads to convey veneration during the overnight prayers in a centuries-old ritual, as they pleaded to God to rid them of the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Haidar Hamdani/AFP Photo)

The daughter of Zakaria Abu Maamar, a member of Hamas' political office, is comforted as she cries during her father's funeral, after he was killed in an air strike, in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza Strip on October 10, 2023. (Photo by Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

A mourner reacts as bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes lie at a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 17, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

A woman holding a girl reacts after Israeli airstrikes hit Ridwan neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza on October 23, 2023. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Joy Corrigan is seen on June 24, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The 26-year-old American supermodel wore a peach bra and matching shorts with a bright yellow handbag in LA for the Alo Yoga do. (Photo by The Mega Agency)

Enigmatic Italian forward Mario Balotelli is always good for drama, so Fanny Neguesha is perfect for him. With her racy Instagram shots and wild ways, she might be the one to tame Super Mario’s heart. The couple was engaged to marry this week. (Photo by Splash News/Getty Images/Instagram.com)

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.

South African Sangomas are wizards and witches who are supposedly chosen by their ancestors to follow a traditional training and go through a rite of passage after which they become Sangomas and can cure and help people. They are so respected and trusted that western medical authorities have actually advised the government of South Africa to develop its cooperation with Sangomas in order to improve hygiene and health among the population. (Photo by Patrick Durand/Sygma via Getty Images)