ac ‧ tor W3 /ˈæktə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
someone who performs in a play or film
leading/principal actor
She has starred with many leading actors.
character actor (=an actor who takes unusual or interesting roles)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ a good/fine/great actor
He had a reputation as a fine actor.
▪ a well-known/famous actor
I’d really like to be a famous actor.
▪ a professional/amateur actor
It isn’t easy to become a successful professional actor.
▪ the leading/principal actor (=acting the most important part)
Schwarzeneeger was one of Hollywood’s leading actors.
▪ a supporting actor (=acting a part that is not the most important one)
She was awarded an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
▪ a talented/accomplished actor
Jacobsen was one of the most accomplished actors of his generation.
▪ a comic actor
He was a comic actor and he always got a laugh.
▪ a classical actor (=acting parts from important traditional literature)
a drama school that trains classical actors
■ NOUN + actor
▪ a movie/film/screen/Hollywood actor
the movie actor Brad Pitt
▪ a stage actor
Most stage actors are very badly paid.
▪ a television/TV actor
For several years he had small parts as a television actor.
▪ a comedy actor
Jason was voted top TV comedy actor.
▪ a character actor (=an actor who is good at unusual or interesting roles)
As a character actor you get interesting parts.
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THESAURUS
▪ actor someone who performs in a play or film:
Her son wants to be an actor.
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Both my parents are actors.
▪ actress a woman who performs in a play or film. Many women prefer to be called actors rather than actresses :
Who was the actress who played Jane Eyre?
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She’s one of my favourite actresses.
▪ star a famous actor:
Julia Roberts is a famous Hollywood star.
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The hotel is popular with movie stars.
▪ the star someone who plays the most important part in a play or film:
Daniel Radcliffe is the star of the ‘Harry Potter’ films.
▪ co-star one of two or more famous actors who have important parts in a play or film:
Her co-star Jodie Foster won the Best Actress Award.
▪ the lead the main acting part in a play or film:
He will play the lead in a new version of ‘Dracula’.
▪ extra an actor in a film who does not say anything but is part of a crowd:
She started her career as an extra in TV soap operas.
▪ understudy an actor who learns a part in a play so that they can act the part if the usual actor is ill:
Vanessa had flu, and her place was taken by her understudy, Miss Lisa Fennell.
■ a group of actors
▪ the cast all the actors in a play or film:
Other members of the cast include Johnny Depp and Danny DeVito.
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She will head the cast (=she will have the most important part) .
▪ company a group of actors who perform plays together:
In 2006, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.
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The play will be performed by an all-female company.