A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or “eccentric” character. The term, often contrasted with that of leading actor, is somewhat abstract and open to interpretation. In a literal sense, all actors can be considered character actors since they all play "characters," but in the usual sense it is an actor who plays a distinctive and important supporting role.
A character actor may play characters
who are very different from the actor's off-screen real-life personality, while
in another sense a character actor may be one who specializes in minor roles.
In either case, character actor roles are more substantial than bit parts or
non-speaking extras.
The term is used primarily to describe
television and film actors. An early use of the term was in the 1883 edition of
The Stage, which defined a character actor as "one who portrays
individualities and eccentricities". Actors with a long career history of
playing character roles may be difficult for audiences to recognize as being
the same actor.
Overview
In contrast to leading actors, they are
generally seen as less glamorous. While a leading actor often has physical
beauty needed to play the love interest, a character actor typically does not. Some
character actors are known for their unusual looks. For example, the face of
Chicago character actor William Schutz was disfigured in a car accident when he
was five years old, but his appearance after reconstructive surgery helped him
to be distinctive to theater audiences. Generally, the names of character
actors are not featured prominently in movie and television advertising on the marquee,
since a character actor's name is not expected to attract film audiences. Some
character actors have been described as instantly recognizable despite their
names being little known.
During the course of an acting career,
an actor can sometimes shift between leading roles and secondary roles. Some leading actors, as they get older, find
that access to leading roles is limited by their increasing age. In the past,
actors of color, who were often barred from roles for which they were otherwise
suited, found work performing ethnic stereotypes. Sometimes character actors
have developed careers based on specific talents needed in genre films, such as
dancing, horsemanship, acrobatics, swimming ability, or boxing. Many
up-and-coming actors find themselves typecast in character roles due to an
early success with a particular part or in a certain genre, such that the actor
becomes so strongly identified with a particular type of role that casting
directors steer the actor to similar roles. Some character actors play
essentially the same character over and over, as with Andy Devine's humorous
but resourceful sidekick, while other actors, such as Sir Laurence Olivier,
have the capacity of submerging themselves in any role they play. That being
said, some character actors can be known as "chameleons", actors who
can play roles that vary wildly. One such example of this is Gary Oldman. Some
character actors develop a cult following with a particular audience, such as
with the fans of Star Trek or The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Character actors tend to play the same
type of role throughout their careers, including Harvey Keitel as tough
and determined characters, Christopher Lloyd as an eccentric, Claude Rains as
sophisticated, sometimes morally ambiguous men, Abe Vigoda as an ageing
criminal, Fairuza Balk as moody goth girls, and Forest Whitaker as composed
characters with underlying volatility. Ed
Lauter usually portrayed a menacing figure because of his "long, angular
face" which was easily recognized in public, although audiences rarely
knew his name. Character actors can play
a variety of types, such as the femme fatale, gunslinger, sidekick, town drunk,
villain, whore with a heart of gold, and many others. A character actor's roles
are often perceived as being substantially different from their perceived
real-life persona, meaning that they do not portray an extension of themselves,
but rather a character substantially different from their off-screen persona. Character
actors subsume themselves into the characters they portray, such that their
off-screen acting persona is practically unrecognizable. According to one view, great character actors
are rarely out of work, and often have long careers that span decades. They are
also often highly regarded by fellow actors.
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