A Palestinian civil defence officer injured in Israeli attacks is given CPR on a stretcher at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza Strip, Gaza on October 16, 2023. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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.

“Attacking Howler Monkey”. Due to a major tropical rainstorm my wife and I were forced to stay overnight in a Howler Monkey Rescue center in Panama. I used the time to explore the area and to take photos of the monkeys. Just after the rain finally stopped, I ran into this monkey that tried to mock attack me. I quickly took a couple of photos before retreating to a (more) safe distance. (Photo and caption by Christian Mueller-Planitz/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest)

ATTENTION! All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture.

In this photograph taken on January 19, 2012, Indonesian schoolchildren hold on to iron cables as they cross a nearly-collapsed suspension bridge at Sanghiang Tanjung village in Indonesia's Banten province to reach their school. (Photo by Kris Aria/AFP Photo)

“The Independence day”. While on storm chasing expeditions in the Tornado Alley in USA I have encountered many photogenic supercell storms. This photograph was taken while we were approaching the storm near Julesburg, Colorado on My 28th, 2013. The storm was tornado warned for more than one hour, but stayed an LP storm through all its cycles and never produced a tornado, just occasional brief funnels, large hail and some rain. Photo location: Julesburg, Colorado, USA. (Photo and caption by Marko Korošec/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A man rides a motorcycle during the first gathering of motorists at the beginning of the spring season in Mirna Pec April 6, 2015. Some 7000 motorists gathered to be blessed by a priest for a safe ride in the spring. (Photo by Srdjan Zivulovic/Reuters)

A stuntman performs while riding a car inside the “Wall of Death” attraction during a fair in Bhaktapur April 20, 2015. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

Pop culture is the inspiration for many great artists. From music to movies, all of it provide great amount of ideas for people to do great, even witty pieces, like these, by American painter Hillary White.