Osama bin Laden lookalike Ceara Francisco Helder Braga Fernandes laughs while chatting on the phone in his “Bar do Bin Laden” on April 29, 2014 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Braga says he was known as the “Beard Man” before 9/11 but became known as a Bin Laden lookalike following the 9/11 attacks. He says he is Christian and continues to play the role to support his business. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A devotee dressed as a Roman soldier whips a penitent playing the role of one of two thieves sentenced to be crucified alongside Jesus Christ, during the Via Crucis or Way of the Cross reenactment in the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, April 15, 2022. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus Christ culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (Photo by Matias Delacroix/AP Photo)

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 stunning color portraits, produced by the U.S. Office of War Information during World War II depict the role of women in the US war effort. All of the images were shot on 4x5 color transparency film by Howard R. Hollem and Alfred T. Palmer during 1942 and 1943 and were turned over to the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division in 1944. They are seen here with their original captions.

British actress and model Elizabeth Hurley (L) and English actress Pear Chiravara in “Strictly Confidential”, 2024, directed by Liz Hurley's son Damian Hurley. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

American actress Aubrey Plaza (L) dances with American actress and model Madelyn Cline while sipping Avaline sparkling at Stella McCartney and Baz Luhrmann's Met Gala after party with Casamigos Tequila in Manhattan, New York on May 1, 2023. (Photo by Matteo Prandoni/BFA.com)

The deserts of Argentina take on a starring role in this photographer’s breathtaking Milky Way shots. Amateur snapper Gonzalo Javier Santile, 46, spent the last two years capturing these rare shots of the galaxy as it arced over deserts in Salta Cafayate, Cordoba Valle de Punilla, Provincia de Buenos Aires and the Rio Negro province. In his pictures, the Milky Way can be admired as it towers over canyons, cacti, bushes, and even small brooks and lakes. (Photo by Gonzalo Javier Santile/Caters News Agency)