A high temperature alerts were issued as a record-setting summer heat wave continued to bake most parts of south China. (Reuters)

Frida Karlsson takes 2nd place, Therese Johaug of Norway takes 1st place, Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg of Norway takes 3rd place during the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Women's Cross Country Classic on February 26, 2019 in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo by Lisi Niesner/Reuters)

7th August 1941: A Soviet sniper targets the enemy with the telescopic sight on his rifle.

Rita Ora attends the World Premiere of JEREMY SCOTT: THE PEOPLE'S DESIGNER, presented by The Vladar Company and Quintessentially at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Tuesday, September 8, 2015, in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision for The Vladar Company/AP 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.

Ladies enjoyed themselves last night – while keeping safe with their face masks on in Liverpool, United Kingdom on Saturday, December 5, 2020, after coronavirus restrictions were eased following the end of the second national lockdown. (Photo by London News Pictures)

A woman visits oil on canvas paintings by Ayesha Sultana of the Experimenter gallery in 14th edition of Art Dubai at Dubai International Financial Centre, DIFC, which features 50 galleries from 31 countries with a focus on modern and contemporary art, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. (Photo by Kamran Jebreili/AP Photo)

A member of the pro-government “red shirt” movement attacks a Buddhist monk outside the National Anti-Corruption Commission office in Nonthaburi province, on the outskirts of Bangkok March 24, 2014. Members of the movement attacked the monk after he shouted complaints to the group blocking a road near the National Anti-Corruption Commission. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)