Revellers celebrate “Ash Monday” by participating in a colourful “flour war”, a traditional festivity marking the end of the carnival season and the start of the 40-day Lent period until the Orthodox Easter,in the port town of Galaxidi, Greece, February 27, 2017. (Photo by Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters)

Leidi, a member of the 51st Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), poses for a picture at a camp in Cordillera Oriental, Colombia, August 16, 2016. A peace deal will end half a century of war and allow the rebels to reintegrate into Colombian society. (Photo by John Vizcaino/Reuters)

Indian Rabha tribal women in traditional attire take part in a tug of war competition with men during Baikho festival at Gamerimura village along the Assam Meghalaya border, west of Gauhati, India, Saturday, June 4, 2022. (Photo by Anupam Nath/AP Photo)

Pilots of the Royal Saudi Air Force Hawks aerobatic team perform during a show in Kuwait City on February 26, 2023 as the Gulf state marks its 62nd Independence Day and 32nd anniversary of the end of the Gulf war with the liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. (Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat/AFP Photo)

Ukrainian soldiers fire the D-30 artillery to Russian positions in the direction of Klishchiivka as the Russia-Ukraine war continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on August 12, 2023. (Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via 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.

Pantless people stand on a subway platform on January 13, 2013 in New York City. Thousands of people participated in the 12th annual No Pants Subway Ride, organized by New York City prank collective Improv Everywhere. During the afternoon winter event, participants boarded separate subway stops and removed their pants, pretending that they did not know each other. The event, refered to as a “celebration of silliness” is designed to make fellow subway riders laugh and smile. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)