Lead actor on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in 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 typically plays such parts or an actor with a respected body of work. Some 
A title role is often but not necessarily the lead. A lead role must also be differentiated from a starring role, which means that an actor is credited as a part of the main cast but not that they necessarily play the main character.
A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead (), plays a main role in 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 typically plays such parts or an actor with a respected body of work. Some actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
s are typecast as leads, but most play the lead in some performances and supporting or character roles in others.
Sometimes there is more than one significant leading role in a dramatic piece, and the actors are said to play ''co-leads''; a large supporting role
A supporting character is a character in a narrative that is not the focus of the primary storyline, but is important to the plot/protagonist, and appears or is mentioned in the story enough to be more than just a minor character or a cameo a ...
may be considered a ''secondary lead''. Award nominations for acting often reflect such ambiguities. Therefore, sometimes two actors in the same performance piece are nominated Oscars for Best Actor or Best Actress—categories traditionally reserved for leads. For example, in 1935 Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...
, Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone were each nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for ''Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the ''Bounty'' occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship, , from their captain, Lieutenant (navy), Lieutenant William Bli ...
''. There can even be controversy over whether a particular performance should be nominated in the Best Actor/Actress or Best Supporting Actor/Best Supporting Actress category; for instance, ''The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...
's'' Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...
boycotted the 45th Academy Awards
The 45th Academy Awards were presented Tuesday, March 27, 1973, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, honoring the best films of 1972. The ceremonies were presided over by Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston, an ...
ceremony since he was insulted at being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor award; he noted that he had more screen time than his co-star and Best Actor winner Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''
and so he should have received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
A title role is often but not necessarily the lead. A lead role must also be differentiated from a starring role, which means that an actor is credited as a part of the main cast but not that they necessarily play the main character.
See also
*Character actor
A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...
*Casting (performing arts)
In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra (acting), extra to land the role of a character in a s ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leading Actor Acting Mass media occupations Filmmaking occupations