A zookeeper counts penguins through an observation window during the annual stocktake at ZSL London Zoo in central London on January 3, 2023. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP Photo)

A couple walks across the Francis Scott Key Bridge as the setting sun lights up the clouds in Washington, Friday, October 30, 2020. (Photo by J. David Ake/AP Photo)

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 woman, covered in coloured powder, takes part in the 2019 Colour Run, a 5 km run around the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, in Moscow, Russia on June 02, 2019. (Photo by Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

A bakery worker carries fresh bread in Cairo, Egypt on August 1, 2021. (Photo by Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)

The 26th annual Visa Pour l’Image, the “Cannes Film Festival” of photojournalism kicks off, filling the French city of Perpignan with more than 3,000 of the world’s best photojournalists and photo editors, along with agencies from around the world. This year’s Visa Pour l’Image showcases 26 exhibitions around the city. Photo: Christians looting a Muslim shop in the “Combattants” district of Bangui. (Photo by Pierre Terdjman/Paris Match)

Soldiers of People's Liberation Army (PLA) Lanzhou Military Region jump through a burning obstacle during a training session at a military base in Tianshui, Gansu province, China, January 6, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Aiden Haas, left, and Lilli Alcala pose after being crowned Mud King and Mud Queen at the 29th annual Mud Day, Tuesday, July 12, 2016 in Westland, Mich. The event, open to children 12 and younger, was at the Hines Park-Nankin Mills Area west of Detroit. Children 12 and younger were able to slosh around in the pit while participating in mud limbo, wheelbarrow races and other free activities. (Photo by Carlos Osorio/AP Photo)