The Hindus of Nusa Penida, Bali, Indonesia, carry out their annual Ngaben cremation on April 4, 2022, when they place the bones of those who have died over the past year on to floating animal forms in a ceremony that is said to release the souls of the deceased. (Photo by Gede Sudika/Solent News/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Karen Dunn and the nuns from Nun of That Convent at Trailer Park during the final day of Electric Picnic 2023 in Co Laois, Ireland on September 3, 2023. (Photo by Alan Betson/The Irish Times)

Members of a “Diablada” folk group dance during celebrations of the anniversary of Bolivia foundation, in Santiago, Chile on August 6, 2022. (Photo by Ivan Alvarado/Reuters)

Monkeys climb onto tourists during the annual Monkey Festival in Lopburi province, Thailand on November 26, 2023. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

Animal rights activists covered with fake blood sit on the floor during a protest against the use of animals in research to mark World Day for Animals in Laboratories in central Madrid April 24, 2014. The sign reads, “How many rabbits do your shampoo kill?”. (Photo by Andrea Comas/Reuters)

A man and a dog bathe in a fountain during celebrations of Paratroopers' Day in Moscow' s Gorky Park on August 2, 2017. Russia' s Airborne Troops (Blue Berets) celebrate their professional holiday on the Day of Elijah the Prophet, their Patron. (Photo by Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS)

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.

In this photograph taken on April 16, 2014, a veterinary staff member of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme center conducts medical examinations on a 14-year-old male orangutan found with air gun metal pellets embedded in his body in Sibolangit district in northern Sumatra island. (Photo by Sutanta Aditya/AFP Photo)