Arctic wolves in their new enclosure in the wildlife park in Hanau, Germany, 10 February 2015. The pack is one of the park's main attractions, which specializes in local and European breeds. (Photo by Boris Roessler/EPA)

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 man from Dinka tribe holds his AK-47 rifle in front of cows in a Dinka cattle herders camp near Rumbek, capital of the Lakes State in central South Sudan December 14, 2013. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

A golden huddle by Minqiang Lu, China. Two females and a male golden snub-nosed monkey huddle together to keep warm in the extreme cold. Threatened by forest loss and fragmentation, this endangered species is confined to central China. Restricted to living high up in the temperate forests, these monkeys – here in the Qinling mountains in Shaanxi province – feed mostly in the trees, on leaves, bark, buds and lichen. In heavy wind and snow, Minqiang walked up the mountain carrying his equipment. He stayed for half an hour in temperatures of –10C opposite the tree where the group was huddled before achieving this eye-level composition. (Photo by Minqiang Lu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

A child stops by a large print at a photographic memorial for those killed in the confrontation between Ukraine's military and the pro-Russia separatist forces in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, February 23, 2022. Ukraine urged its citizens to leave Russia, and Europe braced for further confrontation Wednesday after tensions escalated dramatically when Russia's leader received authorization to use military force outside his country and the West responded with a raft of sanctions. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

Artturi Lehkonen #62 of the Colorado Avalanche scores against goalie Jake Allen #34 of the New Jersey Devils in the first period at Ball Arena on February 26, 2025 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP Photo)

“Basunga”. Basunga (3 weeks-old newborn with albinism) is happily sleeping with his cousin. For now, he does not yet realize the difficulties he will face to integrate into the Congolese society as a PWA. The success of his integration will greatly depends of how he accepts himself and his skin condition a and how educated he will be. Photo location: Kinshasa, Congo RDC. (Photo and caption by Patricia Willocq/National Geographic Photo Contest)

Alex Lual (R) in action against Trent Girdham (L) during the undercard bouts ahead of the WBO Asia Pacific Super Welterweight Title Bout between Tim Tszyu and Takeshi Inoue at Qudos Bank Arena, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 17 November 2021. (Photo by Dan Himbrechts/EPA/EFE)