Character actor
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A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.<ref>Oxford Dictionaries, character actor, Retrieved 7 August 2014, "...An actor who specializes in playing eccentric or unusual people rather than leading roles...."</ref><ref>Macmillan Dictionary, Character actor, Retrieved 7 August 2014, "...an actor who plays unusual, strange, or interesting characters instead of being one of the main characters..."</ref><ref name=twsForeman/><ref name=twsNYActingSchool>28 April 2013, The New York Acting School, Ten Best Character Actors of All Time, Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be almost unrecognizable from part to part, and yet play many, many roles convincingly and memorably. .."</ref> The term is somewhat abstract and open to interpretation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> While all actors play "characters",<ref name=twsTVTonight>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the term character actor is often applied to an actor who frequently plays a distinctive and important supporting role.<ref name=twsDigitalPolyphony>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=twsYahoo>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In another sense, a character actor may also be one who specializes in minor roles.Template:Fact
A character actor may play a variety of characters in their career, often referred to as a "chameleon", or may be known for playing the same type of roles. Character actor roles are more substantial than bit parts or non-speaking extras. The term is used primarily to describe television and film actors, as opposed to theater actors.<ref name=twsTobolowsky>Stephen Tobolowsky, Discovery, What does it mean to be defined as a character actor? Template:Webarchive, Retrieved 7 August 2014, "In theater, they almost never use the term "character actor." ... leading actors have two names, like, Captain Jack Sparrow ... Richard KimbleTemplate:Sndparts I play ...Officer Johnson"</ref> 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".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., character, n., 19.</ref> Actors with a long career history of playing character roles may be difficult for audiences to recognize as being the same actor.<ref name=twsNYActingSchool/>
OverviewEdit
In contrast to leading actors, they are generally seen as less glamorous.<ref name=twsNYActingSchool/><ref name=twsTVTonight/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=twsForeman>Template:Cite book</ref> While a leading actor often has the physical attractiveness considered necessary to play the love interest,<ref name=twsUSAToday2/> a character actor typically does not. In fact, some character actors are known for their unusual looks. For example, Chicago character actor William Schutz's face 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some character actors have been described as instantly recognizable despite their names being little known.<ref name="Indiewire 2013-07-03">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They are colloquially referred to as "that guy",<ref name="Indiewire 2013-07-03" /><ref name="twsYahoo" /> or "that guy" actors,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as in the 2014 documentary That Guy Dick Miller;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> with a prime example of a "that guy" actor being John Carroll Lynch.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Over the course of an acting career, an actor can sometimes shift between leading roles and supporting roles.<ref name=twsUSAToday2>Template:Cite news</ref> Some leading actors, as they get older, find that access to leading roles is limited by their age. Sometimes character actors have developed careers based on specific talents needed in genre films, such as dancing, horsemanship, acrobatics, swimming ability, or boxing.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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 and theatrical agents steer the actor to similar roles. Some character actors are known as "chameleons", able to play roles that vary wildly, such as Gary Oldman<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Christian Bale.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Many character actors tend to play the same type of role throughout their careers,<ref name=twsDigitalPolyphony/> like Harvey Keitel as tough, determined characters; Christopher Lloyd as eccentrics; Claude Rains as sophisticated, sometimes morally ambiguous men; Abe Vigoda as aging criminals;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fairuza Balk as moody goth girls; Doug Jones as non-human creatures; and Forest Whitaker as composed characters with underlying volatility.<ref name=twsDigitalPolyphony/> 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.<ref name=twsUSAToday>Template:Cite news</ref> Character actors can play a variety of types, such as the femme fatale, gunslinger, sidekick, town drunk, villain, hooker with a heart of gold, and many others.<ref name=twsForeman/> Prolific character actors, such as Margo Martindale, are rarely out of work, and they often have long careers that span decades.<ref name=twsForeman/> They are often highly esteemed by fellow actors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>