ACTOR


Meaning of ACTOR in English

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)

• • •

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.

• • •

THESAURUS

▪ actor someone who performs in a play or film:

Her son wants to be an actor.

|

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?

|

She’s one of my favourite actresses.

▪ star a famous actor:

Julia Roberts is a famous Hollywood star.

|

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.

|

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.

|

The play will be performed by an all-female company.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.