A girl dresses up as the Hindu deity Krishna to celebrate Janmashtami, his birthday in Agartala, India on August 26, 2019. (Photo by Abhisek Saha/Barcroft Media)

Ava Cheptoo Cheruiyot, 11, a member of the Dance Centre Kenya (DCK), performs on stage during The Nutcracker at the Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi on December 7, 2024. The Nutcracker is a beloved Christmas ballet, first performed in 1892, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Known for its enchanting score and festive themes, it has become a holiday tradition worldwide. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)

The cold doesn't seem to be a problem for these women who dance on December 02, 2020 in Cardiff, Wales. From Friday at 6pm licensed pubs, cafes and restaurants in Wales will have to stop serving alcohol and close at 6pm every day until further notice. The regulations will be reviewed on 17 December. The rules follow a firebreak period which started on October 23 and ended on November 9 which saw all non-essential shops close. (Photo by Huw Evans Picture Agency/The Sun)

Shortlist, open competition, lifestyle. Healing Vibes – the hot springs of Bagno Vignoni in Italy flow out at a temperature of about 49°C. They were appreciated by the Romans for their healing powers, and have been used as therapeutic treatments since the 12th century, under Emperor Federico II. (Photo by Stefano Butturini/Sony World Photography Awards)

An elephant cools off at a zoo in Karachi, Pakistan, 31 March 2021. Caretakers at Karachi's zoo were working to keep animals cool during a​ heatwave affecting southern Pakistan. (Photo by Shahzaib Akber/EPA/EFE)

A model is reflected in the mirror applying makeup during the Mr. and Mrs. Kibera leadership contest, on International Youth Day, in Nairobi, Kenya, Tuesday, August 12, 2025. (Photo by Brian Inganga/AP Photo)

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.

Revellers attend the Victorian Picnic during the Wave and Goth festival in Leipzig, Germany, May 22, 2015. The annual festival, known in Germany as Wave-Gotik Treffen (WGT), features over 100 bands and artists in venues all over the city playing Gothic rock and other styles of the dark wave music subculture. One of the biggest of its kind, the event attracts a regular audience of up to 20,000, the organisers said. (Photo by Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters)