Horses compete in the VEA, VHBPA, and VTA Maiden Claiming Hurdle race during the Virginia Gold Cup Races at Great Meadow on Saturday May 06, 2023 in The Plains, VA. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

The Knights of Middle England equestrian stunt display team perform ahead of the first match on July 13, 2024. The British Beach Polo Championships, or “sand polo”, returns to the exclusive Sandbanks peninsula near Poole, Dorset. Spectators can appreciate the horsemanship, speed and gladiatorial nature of polo at the largest beach polo event in the world. (Photo by Max Willcock/Bournemouth News)

Models are seen at the backstage before the runway at The 2nd Skin Co. show during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid Spring/Summer 2020 at Ifema on July 09, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Pablo Cuadra/Getty Images)

For centuries the Highlands peoples of Papua New Guinea fought over land, women and pigs. Sorcery and battle skills could elevate a clan to Bigmanship, where the bigger the “presentation”, the bigger the man. Clans therefore would paint their bodies and create fearsome masks as part of their psy. Here: These are the terrifying tribe of “mudmen” from a remote part of Papua New Guinea. (Photo by Jeremy Hunter/Exclusivepix Media)

Passengers take photos at a wildfire while traveling on a train in Zamora, Spain, Monday, July 18, 2022. When Francisco Seoane's train unexpectedly stopped in Spanish countryside that was being engulfed by a wildfire, he and other passengers got a fright when they looked out at flames encroaching on both sides of the track. The Spaniard told The Associated Press it was scary to see how quickly the fire spread. Video of the unscheduled – and unnerving – stop shows about a dozen passengers in Seoane's railcar appearing alarmed as they look out of the windows Monday. (Photo by Francisco Seoane Perez/AP Photo)

Construction workers carry bricks on their heads near the country's parliament building in Naypyitaw November 11, 2014. Yangon lost its status as Myanmar's capital in 2005, after the former military junta carved a new seat of government from a parched wilderness some 380 km (236 miles) to the north and called it Naypyitaw (“Abode of Kings”). (Photo by Damir Sagolj/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.

Raka Soko, a traditional healer and Poro society member is deep in prayer while holding a broom and a bottle filled with spiritual wine that is purified to show gratitude to the gods before a ceremony in Waterloo on November 26, 2018. Standing across the field from him another member, Amos Nicol, holds a statue of the spiritual god Sama Yorbu which is used to communicate directly to other gods for permission to perform. (Photo by Lynn Rossi/AFP Photo)