From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (July 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

A character actor is an actor who predominantly plays a particular type of role rather than leading ones. Character actor roles can range from bit parts to secondary leads. However, character actors often play supporting roles: characters who do not undergo a major change in the course of the plot, and whose role is less prominent than that of the leading actors.

While some actors aspire to leading man or leading woman status, many notable actors have had enduring careers in less prominent, but important and memorable character parts. A frequent trait of character actors is that their names are not widely known yet their faces or voices are instantly recognizable to movie fans: Brad Dourif, John Turturro, William Fichtner, Chris Ellis, Richard Jenkins, Katt Williams, Richard Griffiths, Agnes Moorehead, Michael Ironside, Thomas Mitchell, Thelma Ritter, Jack Warden, Millard Mitchell, Charles Winninger, Eric Blore, Walter Connolly, Fay Bainter, Martin Balsam, Beulah Bondi, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, Jonathan Banks, Wallace Shawn or Barry Fitzgerald are some examples, despite the fact that some of these actors played the occasional lead part.

Some character actors play essentially the same character over and over, as with Andy Devine's humorous but resourceful sidekick or Dennis Farina's tough cop/gangster.

See stock character and commedia dell'arte for a discussion of related theatrical traditions.

There are many reasons people might become character actors. Actors may also simply seem better suited to character roles than to leading roles. Another fact worth noting is that while any film has a handful of leading roles, it may also require dozens of smaller supporting roles, and that there are arguably more opportunities for professional success as a character actor than as a movie star.

• By choice.
• Actors may find character work because they are seen as typecast (strongly identified with, or only suitable for certain types of roles), often due to an early success with a particular role or genre; J.T. Walsh crafted a career of playing villainous characters, and Steve Buscemi has made a great career of playing witty, scheming characters.
• Character actors may lack some of the physical attributes associated with movie stars: they may be regarded as too tall, too short, unattractive, overweight, or somehow lacking an ephemeral "star quality".
• Some actors may have a style or presence that overwhelms or threatens to upstage other actors; thus an often perceived necessity to limit their screentime which in effect often gives more power and value to their performances. Christopher Lee may be the most well known example of this.
• Actors may be deemed too old or too young for leading roles (see ageism).
• Actors from marginalized or minority groups (such as certain ethnic or racial groups or women) might be barred from roles for which they were otherwise suited.
• Actors from outside of the U.S. may be famous in their own countries, but find their roles limited in the U.S. for any number of reasons (see Marcel Dalio, Cantinflas and Jet Li).
• Some character actors have distinctive voices or accents which limit their roles. Actors such as James Earl Jones, Gilbert Gottfried, Selma Diamond and Julie Kavner have been able to turn this to their advantage, often in voice-over work.
• Sometimes character actors have developed careers because they had specific talents that are required in genre films, such as dancing, horsemanship or swimming ability.
• The stars of a movie that fails badly at the box office are often considered part of the reason it failed, and they may have trouble finding work later. Character actors are almost never blamed for these failures, and can continue to find work relatively easily.

Many character actors have gained star status or become widely known lead actors. Examples include Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Hopper, Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, Johnny Depp, Alan Arkin, Robert Duvall, John Malkovich, Ed Harris, Paul Giamatti, Christopher Walken, and Jeff Goldblum. However, many actors such as Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh and Michael Lerner have nevertheless earned acclaim for their character roles.

Other character actors have developed a cult following with a particular audience as well, such as the fans of Star Trek, Doctor Who or The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

However, character actors are not limited to only seasoned performers, but also can refer to film directors who have either made the crossover to acting or worked in front of the camera before, such as John Huston, Sydney Pollack, Paul Mazursky, Mark Rydell and Tim Blake Nelson to name a few.

• Damsel in distress
• Femme fatale
• Gunslinger
• Sidekick
• Town drunk
• Villain
• Hooker with a heart of gold
• Scene stealer
• Neurotic
• Best friend
• Confidant
• Boss

• For a list of notable character actors, see List of character actors
• Category:Character actors
• List of fat actors

Hey! It's That Guy! Fametracker's celebration of character actors.