what makes someone a “character actor” versus a non-character actor: the fiction we've been trained to believe versus the reality

what we've been taught
a non-character actor just plays themselves

a character actor is a chameleon who transforms into a wide range of complicated human beings.

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​What's really happening


"In the old days, when I was first in NY and working in casting offices as an assistant, our Bible was The Players Guide. Published annually by AEA, it was the low-tech Google Search. Actors appeared with a brief list of credits next to a photo. They were arranged first by gender, and then within that, three categories—Leading Ladies, Young Leading Ladies and Character Women. Same for men: Leading Men, Young Leading Men and Character Men.
My first impression of this ranking system was that it neatly separated out the actor who were hot and sexy—the youngest being the hottest. The Leading Men/Ladies still had it—but less so. The Character people—why bother breaking them out by generation? They were just schlubby.
So it was capitalism at its most intimate—who a producer might want to sell tickets."  
   -James Nicola, Artistic Director, New York Theatre Workshop

Denzel Washington & Viola Davis

James Nicola, thank u for spilling that tea...so tired of the woowoo magic of the business ...a business that cares little for the average artist wishes and dreams so then it behooves the artist to really find ways to reveal the deepest parts of themselves bec the business rarely makes decisions based on what we've been taaught to think is important....that's why artists must make instead of relying on business decisions to determine their story....