Can any one tell me what "character actor" means....Is it diff than regular actor?

Answer 1

A Character actor is one who mostly plays a certain type of character. Very often the parts they play are very close in nature to their own personalities. Robert Mitchum and Jimmy Stewart were Character actors. There is a lot of confusion over this term both inside and outside the theater. I've had this argument with friends a number of times.

Character actors do often play supporting roles but not always. More versatile actors also sometimes play supporting roles. Lead or support has nothing to do with it. It comes down to the actors ability to play a role that is outside of themselves.

I hope this is making some sense.

Answer 2

A character actor is someone who plays the supporting roles. He is often no lesser an actor - just defined by age or maybe race. Tom Cruise is definitely NOT a character actor but someone like Steve Buscemi is.
There is a good definition of a character actor on Wikipedia.

Answer 3

Tom Cruise is a good character actor. He plays the serious parts well and doesn't do comedy good. Jim Carey does comedy well and not serious. To me a character actor only does acting in a certain genre and an actor can change it up and do different characters. Tom Hanks and Nicholas Cage are actors that can do comedy and serious and interchange the different roles.

Answer 4

A character actor is usually not the lead ingenue characters. Character actors often play more extreme characters, and are very good at it. In movies it's often the guy you've seen in a hundred movies but don't know who he is.

Answer 5

a character actor can play a wide variety of roles whereas a star can become defined and known by one role or character, a good character actor can have a much longer acting career than a star

Answer 6

A character actor is one who "specializes in playing the roles of unusual or distinctive characters."

Answer 7

a character actor is someone who generaly does not play lead roles. more often play the part of diffrent type supporting "characters" or "bit" parts: the butcher in one movie, a homeless man in another, maybe a "hit"man in another and a gay school teacher in another. someone who has the skills to play varied parts often using varied accents....throughout the years their faces become familiare in films , but very often you never know their names till they show up on obituaries..... ps and although tom cruise is a fine actor and has played many diffrent roles , he is Deffinatly Not considered a "character actor" he is a "leading man"