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)

A member of the Edo Firemanship Preservation Association displays his balancing skills atop bamboo ladder during a New Year presentation by the fire brigade in Tokyo January 6, 2015. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

A 17ft anaconda which ate a pet dog seen blindfolded with a t-shirt is examined by Mano Bascoules in Montsinery, French Guiana. (Photo by Sebastien Bascoules/Barcroft Media/ABACAPress)

Labourers walk near trucks loaded with logs, which are trapped on a muddy road, near an unreserved forest in the village of Igbatoro, southwest Nigeria, August 28, 2014. Wood, a form of biomass, is the sole source of energy for hundreds of millions of Africans who lack access to modern sources of power, and logging, both legal and illegal, remains a lucrative business that has contributed to the rapid shrinking of Africa's rainforests and woodlands. (Photo by Akintunde Akinleye/Reuters)