An Ethiopian Orthodox monk prays within a rock hewn church ahead of Ethiopian Christmas in Lalibela, January 6, 2017, which is celebrated on January 7. (Photo by Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

A reveler playfully sticks out her tongue during a street pre-carnival party by the “Cordao do Boitata” Block, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, February 12, 2023. Revelers are taking to the streets for the open-air block parties, leading up to Carnival's official Feb. 17th opening. (Photo by Bruna Prado/AP Photo)

An Indian woman dressed as Hindu Goddess Kali participates in a “Shivratri” procession in Allahabad, India, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014. “Shivaratri”, or the night of Shiva, is dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of death and destruction. (Photo by Rajesh Kumar SinghAP 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.

360Cities PRO member Andrew Bodrov has just published another stunning panorama stitched from images taken by the Curiosity Rover on Mars. Photo: “Mars Panorama – Curiosity Rover: Martian Solar Day 177” (Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/Andrew Bodrov)

“Hydrocynus goliath, also known as the goliath tigerfish, giant tigerfish or mbenga, is a very large African predatory freshwater fish. The giant tigerfish is restricted to the Zaire River system, Lualaba River, Lake Upemba and Lake Tanganyika”. (Photo by Tigerfishcamp / Tourettefishing / Bigfishesoftheworld)

Maratus is a spider genus of the Salticidae family (jumping spiders). These spiders are commonly referred to as peacock spiders due to their colorful abdominal flaps that they display during courtship. In at least one species, Maratus vespertilio, the expansion of the flaps also occurs during ritualised contests between males. All described species, except M. furvus, are endemic to Australia. (Photo by Jurgen Otto)

Models display creations by fashion house Andres Sarda during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain, April 8, 2021. (Photo by Sergio Perez/Reuters)