A young man dressed as “La Llorona”, participates in a parade called “La Calabiuza” on the eve of the Day of the Dead in Tonacatepeque, El Salvador, November 1, 2019. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/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.

A gibbon drinks from a soft drink bottle, given by a tourist, at a zoo in Kunming, Yunnan province, June 18, 2015. (Photo by Wong Campion/Reuters)

Palestinian girls struggle as they get donated food at a distribution center in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, on Friday, December 6, 2024. (Photo by Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo)

Drivers push cars to gas station during “oil crisis”, Roslindale, Boston, Massachusetts, 1973. (Photo by Spencer Grant/Getty Images)

A boy reacts as dogs play along the riverbank of Pasig river, in Manila, Philippines, June 10, 2021. (Photo by Lisa Marie David/Reuters)

Family Donation by Si Thu Ye Myint (Myanmar, Winner). Myin Twin village in upper Myanmar. (Photo by Si Thu Ye Myint/Sony World Photography)

“People of the River”. This is a Karo tribe family; father, mother, two sisters and two brothers. The tribe, who live along the Omo River in east Africa, incorporate rich symbolism into their rituals by using ornate body art, headdresses and body scarification to express beauty and significance. (Photo by Jatenipat Ketpradit/International Portrait Photographer of the Year)