I had to stay late at work, Chubut, Argentina. “South sea elephant in Patagonia (Isla Escondida) They adopt very curious gestures!”. (Photo by Luis Burgue/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2020)

A young girl chases pigeons as Muslim worshippers gather to perform the Eid al-Fitr morning prayer at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, on May 13, 2021. (Photo by Abdulghani Essa/AFP Photo)

Colton Herta crashes in the first turn during the final practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, May 27, 2022. (Photo by Joe Watts/AP Photo)

“Strike Through The Mothership”. Every May for the last 3 years I have driven down to Tornado Alley to capture some amazing storms. This supercell held so much promise to drop a tornado but one small shift in the atmosphere and all that it produced was an extreme lightning show. Photo location: Broken Bow, Nebraska. (Photo and caption by Vanessa Neufeld/National Geographic Photo Contest)

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.

EMT Christian Amoroso, wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), pauses while unloading COVID-19 patients at the Montefiore Medical Center Wakefield Campus on April 06, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. A specialized bus known as a Medical Evacuation Transport Unit (METU), caries infected patients on stretchers and benches between hospitals. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Mike Bennett wears a Patriot face mask on his mouth as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19 while skateboarding with his dog amid the novel coronavirus pandemic in Huntington Beach, California on April 25, 2020. Orange County is the only county in the area where beaches remain open, lifeguards in Huntington Beach expect tens of thousands of people to flock the beach this weekend due to the heat wave. Lifeguards and law enforcement are patrolling the beach to make sure people are keeping their distance. (Photo by Apu Gomes/AFP Photo)

A girl has her face painted during the 236th annual Military, Civic, and Firemen’s Parade as part of 4th of July celebrations in Bristol, Rhode Island, U.S., July 5, 2021. (Photo by Quinn Glabicki/Reuters)