An Iraqi soldier plays with an accordion found on the street while on patrol in the western neighborhood of Tamuz in Mosul on May 23, 2017, after the area was retaken during the ongoing offensive against Islamic State (IS) group fighters. (Photo by Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP Photo)

Women pose for a selfie in a lavender field at Hitchin Lavender farm in Ickleford, Britain, August 4, 2020. (Photo by Peter Cziborra/Reuters)

I would like to tell you why many artists, who like me, have painted portraits and landscapes in oils on canvas, worked with acrylics, watercolors, and pen and ink drawings, have turned to the art of gourd carving.

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.

A fighting bull loses its balance during the third day of the San Fermin running-of-the-bulls on July 8, 2011 in Pamplona, Spain. Pamplona's famous Fiesta de San Fermin, which involves the running of the bulls through the historic heart of Pamplona for eight days starting July 7th, was made famous by the 1926 novel of U.S. writer Ernest Hemmingway called “The Sun Also Rises”. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Druids, pagans and revellers cheer as the sun rises at Stonehenge on December 22, 2011 in Wiltshire, England. The unseasonable warm weather encouraged a larger than normal crowd to gather at the famous historic stone circle to celebrate the sunrise closest to the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Australian Motorcross rider and member of the Crusty Demons, Robbie Marshall jumps over a helicopter with rotating blades and a Formula 1 car at Avalon Airport on February 22, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

A clown performs next to the Monument to the Revolution as he takes part in the Latin American Clown Convention in Mexico City, Mexico, October 21, 2015. The convention will be held from October 19 to 22 in Mexico City. (Photo by Henry Romero/Reuters)