A supporting actor is an

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

who performs a role in a play or film below that of the

leading actor A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...

(s), and above that of a

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

. In recognition of important nature of this work, the theater and film industries give separate awards to the best supporting actors and actresses. These range from minor roles to principal players and are often pivotal or vital to the story as in a best friend, love interest,

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

(such as Robin in the

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

series), or

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

(such as the villain). They are sometimes but not necessarily character roles. In earlier times, these could often be

ethnic stereotype An ethnic stereotype, racial stereotype or cultural stereotype involves part of a system of beliefs about typical characteristics of members of a given ethnic group, their status, societal and cultural norms. A national stereotype, or nation ...

s. A supporting actor should usually not upstage the main actor or actress, but often do. The title of the role is usually specific to the performance; that is, a person may be a supporting actor in one film and the lead in another. In television, the term day player is used to refer to most performers with supporting

speaking role Closing credits or end credits are a list of the cast and crew of a particular motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear close to, or at the very end of a ...

s hired daily without long-term contracts.

External links

FilmReference.com on "Supporting Actors"SupportingActors.com
Acting Television terminology {{job-stub

See also

External links