A lovely sunrise in at the beachfront of Playa de Muro, Alcudia on the island of Mallorca, Majorca, Spain on May 16, 2022. As a road cyclist walks his road bike along a wooden jetty heading out into the calm waters. (Photo by Phil Wilkinson/Alamy Live News)

(L-R) Maria Silva, Milena Cortes, Maria Arteaga, Jackeline Bastidas and Gissy Abello pose for a picture at the Famproa dogs shelter where they work, in Los Teques, Venezuela, August 25, 2016. Venezuelans struggling to feed their families let alone their pets are dumping animals on the streets, in parks and at makeshift homes overrun with scrawny animals amid an economic crisis. An hour from Caracas in Los Teques, hundreds of dogs bark and run around the streets scavenging for food outside a makeshift shelter. (Photo by Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters)

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.

“Tough Times for Orangutans”. Nature, first prize stories. Tim Laman, USA. Location: West Kalimantan, Indonesia. A Bornean orangutan climbs over 30 meters up a tree in the rain forest of Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia, August 12, 2015. The lives of wild orangutans are brought to light. Threats to these orangutans from fires, the illegal animal trade and loss of habitat due to deforestation have resulted in many orphan orangutans ending up at rehabilitation centers. (Photo by Tim Laman/World Press Photo Contest)

British actress Iris Law arrives for the screening of the film “Forever Young (Les Amandiers)” at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2022. (Photo by Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters)

Japanese–British singer-songwriter and model Rina Sawayama, date unknown. (Photo by Press Handout for SFTW)

A Japan fan before their FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match between Japan and Costa Rica at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on November 27, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)

Swans from the state Ballet of Georgia production of Swan Lake arrive in London on August 27, 2024 ahead of opening night at London Coliseum venue on 28th August. (Photo by Guy Corbishley/Alamy Live News)