A “Free Syrian Army” fighter in the Bustan Pasha neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, August 21, 2013. (Photo by James Lawler Duggan)

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.

Daredevil Christopher Gillette writhes around with a huge alligator he has saved from death. He works at a Florida sanctuary that rescues the wild beasts if they stroll into neighbourhoods where residents can legally kill them. To raise cash for the centre at Homestead, staff put on shows to feed and wrestle the alligators. Photographer John Chapa, 41, and girlfriend Adriana Canargo, 30, took these shots. Photo: Assistant photographer Adriana Canargo dives with a wild alligator. (Photo by John Chapa/Barcroft Media)

Chinese rescuers carry an injuried resident after an earthquake hit an area of Ludian county in Zhaotong in southwest China's Yunnan province on August 3, 2014. At least 300 people were killed and 1,300 injured after a strong earthquake hit southwest China's mountainous Yunnan province, state media said. The quake in Zhaotong prefecture, in the province's northeast, toppled buildings and left residents frantically searching for survivors beneath the rubble, images on social media showed. (Photo by AFP Photo)

“Masked gunmen publicly shot dead six suspected collaborators with Israel at a large Gaza City intersection Tuesday, witnesses said. An Associated Press reporter saw a mob surrounding five of the bloodied corpses shortly after the killing”. – Karin Laub via Associated Press

Photo: Palestinian gunmen ride motorcycles as they drag the body of a man, who was suspected of working for Israel, in Gaza City November 20, 2012. (Photo by Suhaib Salem/Reuters)

Members of the Gremlins Carnival Club, open the doors to their workshop to unveil for the first time their cart, Jungle Drums, which is their entry to this year's Bridgwater Carnival, on November 4, 2011 in Bridgwater, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

A photograph of Cuba's former President Fidel Castro decorates a wall inside a state-run market in Havana, March 8, 2016. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)