Three young women preparing a guy. They are sitting him on a keg labelled “gun powder”. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images). 1929

Students exercise in body training at Bishan Vocational Education Center in Chongqing, southwest China, January 13, 2016. These students were trained to be stewardesses of the high-speed train. (Photo by Xie Jie/Xinhua)

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.

Thiago Salgado from the US flips in the air after riding Razzmatazz during Round 3 of the 2023 PBR Unleash the Beast Monster Energy Buck Off at the Madison Square Garden in New York on January 8, 2023. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary/AFP Photo)

Corinthians forward Jaqueline Ribeiro (L) celebrates with teammate midfielder Victoria Albuquerque after scoring a goal during the women's Brazilian Championship 2024 final match between Corinthians and Sao Paulo at the Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on September 22, 2024. (Photo by Miguel Schincariol/AFP Photo)

“Like most Brits, Emmie Stevens is dog mad. But the 25-year-old has taken it to the next level, spending £30,000 on her nine pets. Emmie’s dogs enjoy regular manicures and fur dyes and have their own walk in wardrobe to store their £15,000 clothing collection”. – Daily Record. Photo: Bailey the Staffordshire bull terrier, holding a red rose. (Photo by Helen Yates/Barcroft Media)

People are seen near a Christmas decoration installed on city Square for the upcoming New Year and Christmas season in Skopje, Macedonia December 23, 2016. (Photo by Ognen Teofilvovski/Reuters)

A boy looks for scrap metal using an improvised magnetic tool near a construction site in New Delhi, India, March 21, 2016. (Photo by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters)