Nick Franklin, in action during the FMX competition at the 23rd edition of Free4Style this Saturday, July 2, 2016 in Estavayer-le-Lac,Switzerland. (Photo by Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone/APA)

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.

A spring breaker takes a shot of tequila during a pool party at a hotel in Cancun March 8, 2015. Like previous Florida spring break hot spots Fort Lauderdale and Daytona Beach, Panama City Beach is facing a crisis of conscience over the trade-offs involved in hosting a binge for some 300,000 students who arrive through mid-April with coolers, beer funnels and credit cards. (Photo by Michael Spooneybarger/Reuters)

A Hindu holy man, or sadhu, smokes marijuana in a chillum at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple, ahead of the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal February 15, 2017. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A stunning photographic collection featuring portraits of people from 30 countries and the food they eat in one day. In this fascinating study of people and their diets, 80 profiles are organized by the total number of calories each person puts away in a day. Featuring a Japanese sumo wrestler, a Massai herdswoman, world-renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adria, an American competitive eater, and more, these compulsively readable personal stories also include demographic particulars, including age, activity level, height, and weight. Essays from Harvard primatologist Richard Wrangham, journalist Michael Pollan, and others discuss the implications of our modern diets for our health and for the planet. This compelling blend of photography and investigative reportage expands our understanding of the complex relationships among individuals, culture, and food.

Ethnic Miao women in traditional costumes take part in a tug of war as they celebrate the local ethnic Miao's new year at a village in Rongshui Miao Autonomous county, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China January 5, 2019. (Photo by Reuters/China Stringer Network)

A stunning photographic collection featuring portraits of people from 30 countries and the food they eat in one day. In this fascinating study of people and their diets, 80 profiles are organized by the total number of calories each person puts away in a day. Featuring a Japanese sumo wrestler, a Massai herdswoman, world-renowned Spanish chef Ferran Adria, an American competitive eater, and more, these compulsively readable personal stories also include demographic particulars, including age, activity level, height, and weight. Essays from Harvard primatologist Richard Wrangham, journalist Michael Pollan, and others discuss the implications of our modern diets for our health and for the planet. This compelling blend of photography and investigative reportage expands our understanding of the complex relationships among individuals, culture, and food.

Participants costumed as zombies try to catch hobby runners during the so-called Zombie-Run at the harness racing track Karlshorst in Berlin, Germany, 18 May 2014. The runners carry small flags in their belts which they have to get safely across the finishing line while the zombies try to steal them. The sporting event is based on the US television series “The Walking Dead”. (Photo by Soeren Stache/DPA)