Okame Flowering Cherry tree blossoms are seen frozen on Valentine's Day in front of RX3 Compounding Pharmacy in Chester, Virginia, February 14, 2021. (Photo by Kristi K. Higgins/progress-index.com/USA Today Network via Reuters)

The East and West piers at Whitby in United Kingdom were not built for pleasure like many others but to provide shelter for ships from the storms and currents of the North Sea. Picture date: Thursday, March 23, 2023. (Photo by Andrew McCaren/London News Pictures)

A woman in costume stands on the street during pre-Halloween weekend party in Shanghai, China on October 28, 2023. During the last weekend before Halloween, which comes on Tuesday, 31 October 2023, hundreds of youngsters dressed in costumes overwhelmed the streets of Shanghai. Halloween in China become popular due to the influences of Western expats and foreign teachers. (Photo by Alex Plavevski/EPA/EFE)

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.

American artists have drawn criticism after making stunning, intricate sculptures by pouring hot liquid aluminium into anthills.

People watch the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks at the Edge at Hudson Yards on Thursday, July 4, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Yuki Iwamura/AP Photo)

A wolf-like robot “Super Monster Wolf” stands beside a rice field to drive away wild animals that cause damages to crops in Kisarazu, Chiba prefecture, on August 25, 2017. The agricultural coopetative association JA Kisarazu-shi introduced the 65cm-long and 50cm-high robot recently on a trial basis which can detect wild animals such as boars and deers with an infrared ray sensor when they approach and intimidates them, flashing the red LED eyes and blaring 48 types of sounds including a wolf growl and human voice. (Photo by Toru Yamanaka/AFP Photo)

Honda MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa (R) of Spain sprays champagne on an attendant next to Yamaha MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi (C) of Italy after winning the Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit in Motegi, north of Tokyo, Japan, October 11, 2015. Rossi placed second. (Photo by Issei Kato/Reuters)