Alex Plunkett, left, and Sean Hart, both of Arlington, Va., join hundreds participating in the annual International Pillow Fight Day on April 5. Massive pillow fights broke out on the Mall in Washington and in cities around the world. (Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Coco Gauff's hand during her second round Australian Open match against Emma Raducanu at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia on January 18, 2023. (Photo by Hannah Mckay/Reuters)

Wisconsin forward Carter Gilmore, center, fouls UCLA guard Dylan Andrews, right, during the second half against of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, January 21, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/AP Photo)

American actress and singer Selena Gomez shared the first pictures from her Bachelorette party in the last decade of August 2025. The 33-year-old actress and singer shared photos on Instagram marking the occasion. (Photo by Instagram)

Runner English Gardner poses for a portrait at the U.S. Olympic Committee Media Summit in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California March 8, 2016. “My musical inspiration when I'm training is usually a lot of upbeat music”, said Gardner. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

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.

Fighting Infections (single image) | Fighting Pandemic by Sudipto Das. “It’s exhausting. A tram conductor in Kolkata, India, wears protective clothing from head to toe even in the heat of a summer afternoon. This was when restrictions were easing after India’s first Covid-19 lockdown – public transport was running, but staff were advised to suit up like this. We’ve all grown used to saluting the efforts of healthcare workers, but plenty of other people in public-facing jobs have performed gruelling duties too to keep people safe”. (Photo by Sudipto Das/Wellcome Photography Prize 2021)

Alejandro Ccasa prays after waiting three days next to an empty oxygen tank for his uncle who has COVID-19 outside a refill shop where he is the first in line before it opens in Callao, Peru, early Tuesday, February 2, 2021. Ccasa said his family has one large tank and it gives about four hours of oxygen therapy. (Photo by Martin Mejia/AP Photo)