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.

Winner – Animal Portraits: The pose by Mogens Trolle, Denmark. A young male proboscis monkey cocks his head slightly and closes his eyes. Unexpected pale blue eyelids now complement his immaculately groomed auburn hair. He poses for a few seconds as if in meditation. He is a wild visitor to the feeding station at Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary in Sabah, Borneo – “the most laid-back character”, says Trolle, “quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen on another monkey” – connects us, he hopes, with a fellow primate. (Photo by Mogens Trolle/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020)

A young monk takes his food from the dining hall at Changangkha Lhakhang temple in Thimphu, Bhutan, April 13, 2016. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

Dogs rest during the Sedivackuv Long dog sled race in Destne v Orlickych horach January 23, 2015. Each year, racers from all over Europe arrive at the village of Destne in the Orlicke mountains in Czech Republic to take part in the race. (Photo by David W. Cerny/Reuters)

Prayer flags fly at Namgyal Tsemo Monastery above the town of Leh in Ladakh, India September 24, 2016. High in the Indian Himalayas, young novice monks in maroon robes take their lessons inside the 15th-century Thiksey monastery. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)

A dump truck carrying cleaning workers drives on Havana's malecon as a wave crashes on the sea wall, in Cuba, Tuesday, January 24, 2017. Due to high winds and tides, the sea pushed over the sea wall, flooding low parts of the Vedado neighborhood of Havana. (Photo by Desmond Boylan/AP Photo)

Vendors selling bread wait for customers at a roadside hotel in Quetta on March 25, 2024. (Photo by Banaras Khan/AFP Photo)

Police in riot gear hold back demonstrators against U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump outside the Hyatt hotel where Trump is set to speak at the California GOP convention in Burlingame, California, U.S., April 29, 2016. (Photo by Noah Berger/Reuters)