A diver dressed as “Mermaid of the Serpent Depths” performs in front of a sign marking the Lunar New Year of the Snake inside an aquarium at Manila Ocean Park on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Jam Sta Rosa/AFP Photo)

A handout photo made available by the World Press Photo (WPP) organization on 13 February 2017 shows a picture by Rossiya Segodnya photographer Valery Melnikov that won the Long-Term Projects – First Prize award of the 60th annual World Press Photo Contest, it was announced by the WPP Foundation in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on 13 February 2017. Caption: Civilians escape from a fire at a house destroyed by an air attack in the Luhanskaya village. (Photo by Valery Melnikov/EPA/Rossiya Segodnya/World Press Photo)

The new EVR system which allows the recording of television programmes which can then be watched at the owner's discretion. The new Teleplayer has been produced in partnership with Rank Bush Murphy Ltd and EVR and has enormous potential. 21st September 1970. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

A man dressed as Mr. Destructoid checks his mobile phone while gamers play a game at the 2014 Electronic Entertainment Expo, known as E3, in Los Angeles, June 10, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn

In this Sunday, August 5, 2018 photo, a dancer winces in pain as she is whipped by a fellow dancer in an adaptation of the Inca warrior dance known as “Kachampa”, during celebrations honoring Our Lady of Copacabana, in Cuzco, Peru. (Photo by Martin Mejia/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.

“Chewbacca Mom” Candace Payne attends the 2016 CMT Music awards at the Bridgestone Arena on June 8, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

Revellers enjoy the Notting Hill Carnival for the first time in three years in London, United Kingdom on August 28, 2022. (Photo by Simon Jones/The Sun)