A Hindu devotee ululates as she holds a banana tree trunk after taking a dip in the waters of the Ganges river during a ritual as part of the Durga Puja festival in Kolkata, India, September 27, 2017. (Photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

Syrian fighters from the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) fire a missile against regime positions on May 13, 2019 in the rebel-held northern part of Syria's Hama province. Clashes on the edge of a jihadist bastion in northwestern Syria have killed at least 42 fighters in 24 hours, a monitor said today, after regime bombardment on the region devastated health services. (Photo by Omar Haj Kadour/AFP Photo)

Rapper Pitbull performs onstage during Nickelodeon's celebration of the new Burbank facility on January 11, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Nickelodeon)

A bomb squad member wearing heavy equipment leaves the explosion site at the Yasukuni shrine precints in Tokyo, Japan, 23 November 2015. More than 100 police, firefighters and officials gathered at the site after an explosion was heard in the toilets of the Yasukuni Shrine, a controversial war shrine in the capital Tokyo. Local media reports said police found possible traces of an explosion, as well as batteries and wires at the shrine. There were no reports of injuries. (Photo by Franck Robichon/EPA)

English singer Rita Ora, 29, made sure all eyes were on her as she headed for a night out in a plunging dress in London, England on September 7, 2020. The sеxy checked dress was complemented with heavy gold jewellery around Rita's wrists and neck. Rita's blonde hair had a sheen as it fell over her shoulders, and she completed her look with glam makeup. (Photo by Instagram/The Sun)

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.

Mae Zelinsky, left, and Betty O'Beda test ammunition on a .30 caliber rifle at a Remington Arms plant on April 30, 1943. Many women took over jobs that were left vacant when men went overseas to fight in World War II. (Photo by AP Photo)

The picture dated September 19. 2024 shows a female Kingfisher feeding on small fish near Lancaster, UK. Kingfishers need to eat regularly and eat their own bodyweight in food each day. They primarily eat fish, such as minnows, and when they spot a fish they dive headfirst into the water and seize it with their sharp bills. (Photo by Brendan McGee/Bav Media)