The best man in a wedding party, who all declined to be identified, stands near the bride and groom as he holds an AR-10 rifle he was handed while the party was having their pre-wedding portraits taken on the steps of the capitol before a rally nearby by gun-rights advocates to protest a new expanded gun background check law in Washington state Saturday, December 13, 2014, in Olympia, Wash. The wedding party was not part of the protest, but posed for pictures with it after being handed it by gun activist Brandon Lyons, who said “we've all just broken the law”, by handing the gun over. Saturday's protest was called the “I Will Not Comply” rally, and those attending said they will openly exchange firearms in opposition to the state's new voter-approved universal background check law, Initiative 594. The law, which took effect on December 4, requires background checks on all sales and transfers, including private transactions and many loans and gifts. (Photo by Elaine Thompson/AP Photo)

A young anoa, also known as midget buffalo, named Tycoon runs around at the Zoo in Berlin, Germany, on November 9, 2012. (Photo by Maurizio Gambarini/EPA)

A towel with a print of the Nigerian naira is displayed for sale at a street market in the central business district in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos February 4, 2016. (Photo by Akintunde Akinleye/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.

I had to stay late at work, Chubut, Argentina. “South sea elephant in Patagonia (Isla Escondida) They adopt very curious gestures!”. (Photo by Luis Burgue/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2020)

This graceful husky appears to be smarter than your average dog having apparently mastered the art of walking on water. The soft-footed canine was photographed while making its way across a lake in northern Russia. Photographer Fox Grom captured a remarkable set of images after heavy rain fell on a frozen lake to create the amazing illusion. The 40-year-old, who works as an all-terrain vehicle driver, regularly walks his pet dogs, Alaska and Blizzard, near the natural beauty spot. “I always take pictures of my dogs whilst walking them but on this occasion there was an extraordinary phenomenon“, he said. “The ice was already very thick when it rained heavily making for a spectacular scene”. Here: Husky dog Alaska walks on water in Northern Russia, January 2015. (Photo by Fox Grom/Visual Press Agency)

Night lovers; Hormozgan province, Iran. “In this picture, you can see the Milky Way rising on a fascinating spring night on the Persian Gulf coast. The stunning cliffs of this area make every viewer imagine and even talk to them! The light pollution from a faraway city was quite strong, so it was a challenging post-processing process. I’m a nightscaper who tries to achieve an artistic look in my images, and in this image, I tried to convey and capture the magic of this location”. (Photo by Mohammad Hayati/Milky Way Photographer of the Year)

“Early morning in Mandawa, rural Rajasthan: it was the morning of Diwali and the streets were swept by smiling women in brightly coloured sarees as I took an early morning cup of chai. Celebrations started later, when darkness fell”. (Photo by Hamish Scott-Brown/Guardian Witness)