A prisoner from the Pedrinhas prison is carried to receive medical help after he was injured during a fight between rival gangs inside the jail, in Sao Luiz, capital of Maranhao state, January 8, 2014. The recent posting on a major Brazilian news website of a video filmed last December 17 by Pedrinhas prisoners of the decapitated and tortured bodies of rival inmates inside the jail has highlighted some of the problems present in the country's prison system which houses nearly twice as many prisoners as its capacity, according to official statistics. (Photo by Douglas Cunha/Reuters/O Estado do Maranhão)

Abortion rights demonstrator reacts outside the United States Supreme Court as the court rules in the Dobbs v Women's Health Organization abortion case, overturning the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision in Washington, U.S., June 24, 2022. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein/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 chicken seller carries his chickens on his head in the market in Peshawar, Pakistan, August 20, 2015. (Photo by Khuram Parvez/Reuters)

Female porters carry a holy woman belonging to the Jain community through a street to collect food from local residents living in nearby areas, during early morning in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad December 19, 2014. (Photo by Amit Dave/Reuters)

A Palestinian man walks down snow-covered stairs after Friday prayers near the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City February 20, 2015. Snow covered Jerusalem and mountainous areas of Israel early Friday morning and the education ministry closed schools for the day. (Photo by Ammar Awad/Reuters)

Russia's Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin perform during the ice dance free dance program at the Rostelecom Cup ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Moscow November 15, 2014. (Photo by Grigory Dukor/Reuters)