The torrential rain has failed to dampen the spirits of this hyena as he bursts into a hysterical laugh in Kenya, on Oktober 24, 2013. (Photo by Mark Bridger/Solent News & Photo Agency)

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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 grave cleaner holds up a skull during exhumation works at the Cemetery General in Guatemala City May 24, 2013. If a lease on a grave has expired or not been paid, grave cleaners will break open the crypts to remove and rebury the bodies. (Photo by Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters)

The Dynasphere, an electrically-driven wheel, invented by Mr. J. A. Purves of Taunton and his son. It had 2.5 horse power and once attained a speed of 25 mph. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 1932

Julia Lopez Peña, the daughter of slain environmentalist Juan López, poses for a photo with her state-assigned bodyguards at her ninth birthday party in Tocoa, Honduras, December 7, 2024. (Photo by Moises Castillo/AP Photo)

A tourist cools off in front of a misting fan near a venue of the Hozuki-Ichi (Japanese lantern plant fair), at Sensoji temple, in Tokyo, Japan, on July 10, 2025. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

In a new project, an international group of photographers have joined forces to use their powerful images to raise awareness and funds to help stop the illegal wildlife trade. Here: Fennec foxes are captured for the illegal pet trade. This three-month-old pup was for sale in a market in southern Tunisia. (Photo by Bruno D'Amicis/Photographers Against Wildlife Crime/Wildscreen/The Guardian)

An elderly man uses a fan to shade himself from the sun as he walks in a public park in Beijing, Tuesday, June 7, 2016. Thursday marks the Duanwu Festival, a public holiday in China celebrated with outdoor activities including dragon boat races. (Photo by Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)