character actor

noun

: an actor who is known for playing many different and unusual characters

Examples of character actor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web His father, John Bennett Perry, was a character actor. Matt Stevens, New York Times, 30 Oct. 2023 Hundreds gathered on Friday to honor the beloved character actor as members of the Palm Spring Chamber of Commerce and the local City Council unveiled the latest addition to the town's Walk of Stars. Lanford Beard, Peoplemag, 21 Oct. 2023 Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Mr. McCallum was an experienced character actor who could use an accent or an odd piece of clothing to give depth to a role. Leslie Kaufman, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2023 Around this time, Penn became friends with Billy Smith, a Gulf War veteran and character actor with a similar passion for global chaos. Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 13 Sep. 2023 But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of drama to spread around in the supporting categories, including a winner who’d walked out on his show in search of a salary bump, a breakthrough for a longstanding character actor — and a milestone for original cable programming. Randee Dawn, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2023 That sort of on-the-job commitment required for the gig is tailor-made for Foster, a character actor known for always coming prepared, bringing his usual gravitas to the role of a loner who takes to the sea as a trusty escape route away from those complicated family dynamics. Michael Rechtshaffen, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Sep. 2023 Matthew Rhys is exceptional in the title role, and everyone's favorite character actor Shea Whigham (Mission: Impossble — Dead Reckoning Part One) plays his loyal investigator. Evan Romano, Men's Health, 6 Sep. 2023 Born in Philadelphia, raised in New York City, and a student of legendary acting coach Stella Adler, Margolis honed his craft on the stage before emerging as a reliable on-screen character actor. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'character actor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Character actor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/character%20actor. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

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