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.

These images by Buenos Aires-based graphic design student Martín De Pasquale are so surreal that, obviously, you know they are photoshopped. But they are perfectly executed and very funny. To learn more about the artist and the art of photoshopping we suggest you to check out some of his behind the scenes photos in his Fotografía Imposible folder on Facebook.

With the city of Miami skyline behind it a grand piano is seen on a sandbar in Biscayne Bay on January 26, 2011 in Miami, Florida. It's unknown how or why the heavy musical instrument was on the sandbar but some were speculating it was part of a music video production. The piano was charred from being burned. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

African women in their grandmothers' clothes: Joana Choumali’s portraits show modern African women swapping jeans for kente cloth – and diving into the dazzling cultural heritage of their families. (Photo by Joana Choumali/The Guardian)

Four young, trendsetting architectural offices from Denmark, Holland and France along with PensionDenmark are the clever ones behind the Iceberg – a unique house building, sporting 11 pinnacles, situated at the outermost corner of Aarhus Harbour, thus having a spectacular view of Aarhus Bay and Kalø Cove and Aarhus City.

Disney is reissuing The Little Mermaid on Blu-ray and there are some amazing extras that might be new to even cult Disney fans. Some of the best stuff, however, is a behind-the-scenes look at exactly how The Little Mermaid was created — here are the actual people whose movements and expressions came to create Prince Eric and Ariel in animated form.

“«The Red Detachment of Women» (simplified Chinese: 红色娘子军) is a Chinese ballet which premiered in 1964. It is perhaps best known in the West as the ballet performed for U.S. President Richard Nixon on his visit to China in February 1972. Adapted from the earlier film of the same title under the personal direction of Zhou Enlai, which in turn adapted from the novel by Liang Xin, it depicts the liberation of a peasant girl in Hainan Island and her rise in the Chinese Communist Party”.