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.

Children feed a giraffe at Pairi Daiza wildlife park, a zoo and botanical garden in Brugelette, Belgium, May 25, 2015. (Photo by Francois Lenoir/Reuters)

Two women kiss each other during a flashmob on the ocassion of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in Pamplona, Navarra, Spain, 17 May 2017. The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is held every year on 17 May. (Photo by Villar Lopez/EPA/EFE)

Masai women dressed in traditional clothes wear surgical masks as they wait for a ceremony marking World Elephant Day in the Amboseli National Park, Kenya, August 12, 2020. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)

Randy Scott Slavin's photography is surrealism based in reality. His work portrays land and cityscapes in a 360 degree view, a perspective closer to that of the human eye than a 2D photograph, he says. Slavin's "Alternate Perspectives" is a series of photographs of a single location or landmark pieced together to create a 360 degree perspective in a flat image. The results are whimsical, and occasionally eerie, scenes that reflect the portion and scale of Slavin's surroundings when he took the photo.

A cosplayer poses for a photograph during the Comic Market 90 (Comiket) event in Tokyo Big Sight on August 12, 2016, Tokyo, Japan. Many manga and anime fans wearing cosplay lined up in the sun for the first day of Comiket. Comiket was established in 1975 and focuses on manga, anime, gaming and cosplay. Organizers expect more than 500,000 visitors to attend this year's summer event which runs for three days until August 14. (Photo by Aflo/Splash News)

U.S. Marines, left, and South Korean Marines, wearing blue headbands on their helmets, take positions after landing on the beach during the joint military combined amphibious exercise, called Ssangyong, part of the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle military exercises, in Pohang, South Korea, Saturday, March 12, 2016. North Korea said Saturday its military is ready to pre-emptively attack and “liberate” the South in its latest outburst against the annual joint military drills by the United States and South Korea. (Photo by Kim Jun-bum/Yonhap via AP 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)