INDEX:
1. someone who performs in plays, films etc
2. to perform in plays, films etc
3. the activity or study of acting
4. the most important actor in a play, film etc
5. when a play, film etc has a particular actor in it
6. the person that an actor pretends to be in a play, film etc
RELATED WORDS
to practise for a play : ↑ PRACTISE/PRACTICE
see also
↑ PERFORM/PERFORMANCE
↑ FILM/MOVIE
↑ TELEVISION/RADIO
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1. someone who performs in plays, films etc
▷ actor /ˈæktəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who performs in plays, films etc :
▪ Leonardo DiCaprio is my favourite actor -- he’s so good-looking!
▪ Actor Sidney Poitier was honoured with a Life Achievement Award.
▪ Ben Chaplin is an English actor who had a small part in ‘Remains of the Day’.
▷ actress /ˈæktrɪs, ˈæktrəs/ [countable noun]
a woman who performs in plays, films etc :
▪ Julia Roberts is one of the most famous actresses in Hollywood.
▪ Capucine, the French movie actress whose leading roles included one with Peter Sellers in ‘The Pink Panther’, died after falling from a window.
HINT : You can use actor about a man or a woman. Some women do not like the word actress and prefer to be called actors .
▷ star /stɑːʳ/ [countable noun]
a famous actor or actress :
▪ Eddie Murphy is one of the most successful stars in Hollywood.
big star
▪ James Caan was a big star in the '70s.
▷ film star British /movie star American /ˈfɪlm stɑːʳ, ˈmuːvi stɑːʳ/ [countable noun]
a famous actor or actress who acts in films :
▪ Her real ambition is to be a movie star, not just an actress on the stage.
▪ Film stars like Michael Caine are trying to revive the British film industry by making movies in England.
▷ luvvie /ˈlʌvi/ [countable noun] British informal
an actor or actress - used especially about groups of actors who behave towards each other in a very friendly way that is not sincere :
▪ There’s nothing worse than watching a bunch of luvvies giving speeches at some awful awards ceremony.
▷ cast /kɑːstǁkæst/ [countable noun with singular or plural verb in British English]
all the people who act in a play or film :
▪ Films like ‘Ben Hur’ were made with a cast of thousands.
▪ The entire cast of the play deserves praise for this performance.
2. to perform in plays, films etc
▷ act /ækt/ [intransitive verb]
▪ In recent years Lewis has been acting in television dramas.
▪ He learned to act when he was in high school.
▪ That woman just can’t act! is bad at acting
▷ play /pleɪ/ [transitive verb]
to play the part of a particular character :
▪ Milla Jovovich plays Joan of Arc in ‘The Messenger’.
▪ The roles of Vladimir and Estragon were played by Paul Whitworth and Ken Grantham.
▷ go on the stage /ˌgəʊ ɒn ðə ˈsteɪdʒ/ [verb phrase]
to become an actor in the theatre as a job :
▪ Jane’s parents didn’t want her to go on the stage.
3. the activity or study of acting
▷ acting /ˈæktɪŋ/ [uncountable noun]
the job or skill of being an actor :
▪ You shouldn’t take up acting as a career; it’s a very risky business.
▪ Gloria Reuben quit acting to join Tina Turner on stage as a backing singer and dancer.
▷ theatre British /theater American /ˈθɪətəʳ/ [uncountable noun]
the business and activity of arranging, acting in, and performing plays in theatres :
▪ She does some TV work, but theatre remains her first love.
▪ the use of theatre in primary school education
the theatre/the theater
▪ Shakespeare’s plays were written for the theater, but many people study them as literature.
▷ drama /ˈdrɑːməÛˈdrɑːmə, ˈdræmə/ [uncountable noun]
the study of acting and plays as a subject at school, college, or university :
▪ He studied English and Drama at Manchester University.
▪ a drama student
▪ I was never much good at drama when I was a kid - probably because I was very shy.
▷ amateur dramatics /ˌæmətəʳ drəˈmætɪks/ [uncountable noun]
acting in plays as an activity that you do in your free time for enjoyment, not as a job you get paid for :
▪ Jonathan once appeared in a local amateur dramatics production of ‘Death of a Salesman’.
▪ Her hobbies include amateur dramatics and horse riding.
4. the most important actor in a play, film etc
▷ star /stɑːʳ/ [countable noun]
▪ Peter Fonda is best known as the star of ‘Easy Rider’ and other 1960s biker films.
▪ ‘Blair Witch’ star Heather Donahue has landed a new role in a college reunion film called ‘Seven and a Match’.
▷ co-star /ˈkəʊ stɑːʳ/ [countable noun]
one of two or more actors who are equally important in a play or film :
▪ Stan Laurel appeared in many comedies with his co-star Oliver Hardy.
▪ Hepburn was Humphrey Bogart’s co-star in the movie ‘African Queen’.
5. when a play, film etc has a particular actor in it
▷ star /stɑːʳ/ [transitive verb not in passive]
if an actor stars in a play or film, he or she is one of the most important actors in it; if a play or film stars an actor, he or she plays one of the most important characters in it :
▪ The film stars Patricia Arquette and is directed by Steven Brill.
▪ Director Jane Campion’s latest film, which stars Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel, was one of the highlights of the New York Film Festival.
star in
▪ Danny Aiello stars in this comedy about New York’s first big lottery winner.
▪ Hollywood heart-throb Keanu Reeves is set to star in a true story based on a newspaper article from the Times.
▷ co-star /ˈkəʊstɑːʳ/ [transitive verb not in passive]
if two or more actors co-star in a play or film, they are equally important actors in it; if a play or film co-stars two or more people, they play the most important characters in it :
▪ The movie co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Elle Macpherson and Ben Stiller.
co-star in
▪ Annette Bening co-starred in movies such as ‘Valmont’, ‘Postcards from the Edge’ and ‘Regarding Henry’.
▷ play the lead /ˌpleɪ ðə ˈliːd/ [verb phrase]
to act the most important part in a play or film :
▪ Calloway played the lead in the New Federal Theater’s production of ‘The Louis Armstrong Story’.
▪ He got an unexpected chance to play the lead after the film’s original star fell ill.
▷ be/appear/perform in /ˈbiː, əˈpɪər, pəʳˈfɔːʳm ɪn/ [transitive verb not in passive]
to act in a film or play, especially as one of the most important actors :
▪ More than 60 youngsters will perform in the play at Old Town Theater in Los Gatos.
▪ Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh appeared together in ‘Gone with the Wind’.
▷ feature /ˈfiːtʃəʳ/ [transitive verb not in passive]
if a play or film features an actor, they are in it :
▪ The play features two young actresses.
▪ The original ‘Star Trek’ series, featuring William Shatner as Capt. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, lasted three years.
▷ with /wɪð, wɪθ/ [preposition]
used when saying who is in a play, film etc :
▪ Have you seen ‘The Sixth Sense’ with Bruce Willis?
▪ Dawson is now producing a stage version of the story with a cast of young actors from New York.
▷ as /əz, strong æz/ [preposition]
if someone is in a play or film as a particular character, they act the part of that character :
▪ Clint Eastwood was excellent as the strong, silent hero in his many westerns.
▪ Paul McGann will star as a middle-class Jewish lawyer in a new BBC drama called ‘Fish’.
6. the person that an actor pretends to be in a play, film etc
▷ character /ˈkærɪktəʳ, ˈkærəktəʳ/ [countable noun]
▪ Jed is one of most likeable characters in the play.
central/main character
▪ Carmen Maura plays the passionate, beautiful Pepa, the central character of director Pedro Almodovar’s movie.
▷ part/role /pɑːʳt, rəʊl/ [countable noun]
the job of acting as a particular character in a play or film :
▪ She knew she wanted the part as soon as she read the movie script.
play the part/role of
▪ She played the part of the Wicked Stepmother in ‘Snow White’.