actor

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ac·tor

(ăk′tər)

1. A person who behaves in the manner of a character, usually by reciting scripted dialogue, in order to entertain an audience, especially in a play, movie, or television show.

2. One who takes part; a participant: "France, Britain ... and any other external actors now involved ... in the affairs of the continent" (Helen Kitchen).

3. Law

a. One, such as the manager of a business, who acts for another.

b. In civil law, the plaintiff in an action.

[Middle English actour, doer, probably from Latin āctor, from āctus, past participle of agere, to drive, do; see ag- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

actor

(ˈæktə)

1. (Theatre) a person who acts in a play, film, broadcast, etc

2. informal a person who puts on a false manner in order to deceive others (often in the phrase bad actor)

Usage: The term actor is almost universally used nowadays to refer to people of either gender who act

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ac•tor

(ˈæk tər)

n.

1. a person who acts in stage plays, motion pictures, etc., esp. professionally.

2. a person who does something; participant.

[1350–1400; < Latin =ag(ere) (see act) + -tor -tor]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	actor - a theatrical performer histrion, thespian, role player, player actress - a female actor barnstormer, playactor, play-actor, trouper - an actor who travels around the country presenting plays character actor - an actor who specializes in playing supporting roles comedian - an actor in a comedy ham actor, ham - an unskilled actor who overacts heavy - an actor who plays villainous roles ingenue - an actress who specializes in playing the role of an artless innocent young girl leading man - actor who plays the leading male role mime, mimer, mummer, pantomimer, pantomimist - an actor who communicates entirely by gesture and facial expression performer, performing artist - an entertainer who performs a dramatic or musical work for an audience plant - an actor situated in the audience whose acting is rehearsed but seems spontaneous to the audience reenactor - a person who enacts a role in an event that occurred earlier scene-stealer - an actor who draws more attention than other actors in the same scene; "babies are natural scene-stealers" movie actor, screen actor - an actor who plays a role in a film principal, star, lead - an actor who plays a principal role extra, spear carrier, supernumerary - a minor actor in crowd scenes tragedian - an actor who specializes in tragic roles understudy, standby - an actor able to replace a regular performer when required upstager - a selfish actor who upstages the other actors walk-on - plays a small part in a dramatic production
	2.	actor - a person who acts and gets things done; "he's a principal actor in this affair"; "when you want something done get a doer"; "he's a miracle worker" doer, worker individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" demon - someone extremely diligent or skillful; "he worked like a demon to finish the job on time"; "she's a demon at math" busy bee, eager beaver, live wire, sharpie, sharpy - an alert and energetic person animator, energiser, energizer, vitaliser, vitalizer - someone who imparts energy and vitality and spirit to other people go-getter, whiz-kid, whizz-kid, ball of fire - someone whose career progresses rapidly man of action, man of deeds - someone inclined to act first and think later ball of fire, human dynamo, powerhouse, fireball - a highly energetic and indefatigable person

actor

actress

noun performer, player, artiste, leading man or lady, Thespian, luvvie (informal), trouper, thesp (informal), play-actor, dramatic artist, tragedian or tragedienne You have to be a very good actor to play that part.

Usage: The use of actress is now very much on the decline, and women who work in the profession invariably prefer to be referred to as actors.

Quotations
"An actor's a guy who, if you ain't talking about him, ain't listening" [Marlon Brando]
"Actors should be treated like cattle" [Alfred Hitchcock]
"I'm an actor. An actress is someone who wears boa feathers" [Sigourney Weaver]

Actors

Male Woody Allen (U.S.), Fred Astaire (U.S.), Richard Attenborough (English), Jean-Louis Barrault (French), John Barrymore (U.S.), Alan Bates (English), Warren Beatty (U.S.), Jean-Paul Belmondo (French), Alan Bennett (English), Dirk Bogarde (English), Humphrey Bogart (U.S.), Charles Boyer (French), Kenneth Branagh (English), Marlon Brando (U.S.), Mel Brooks (U.S.), Richard Burbage (English), Richard Burton (Welsh), Glen Byam Shaw (English), James Cagney (U.S.), Michael Caine (English), Simon Callow (English), Robert Carlyle (Scottish), Jim Carrey (U.S.), Charlie Chaplin (English), Maurice Chevalier (French), Colley Cibber (English), John Cleese (English), George Clooney (U.S.), Sean Connery (Scottish), Peter Cook (English), Gary Cooper (U.S.), Kevin Costner (U.S.), Noel Coward (English), Michael Crawford (English), Tom Cruise (U.S.), James Dean (U.S.), Robert De Niro (U.S.), Gerard Depardieu (French), Vittorio de Sica (Italian), John Dexter (English), Leonardo DiCaprio (U.S.), Kirk Douglas (U.S.), Michael Douglas (U.S.), Clint Eastwood (U.S.), Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (U.S.), Douglas Fairbanks Snr. (U.S.), Fernandel (French), WC Fields (U.S.), Albert Finney (English), Errol Flynn (Australian), Henry Fonda (U.S.), Harrison Ford (U.S.), Jean Gabin (France), Clark Gable (U.S.), David Garrick (English), Mel Gibson (Australian), John Gielgud (English), Cary Grant (English - U.S.), Alec Guinness (English), Gene Hackman (U.S.), Tom Hanks (U.S.), Oliver Hardy (U.S.), Rex Harrison (English), Dustin Hoffman (U.S.), Bob Hope (U.S.), Anthony Hopkins (Welsh), Michael Hordern (English), Leslie Howard (English), Trevor Howard (English), Rock Hudson (U.S.), Barry Humphries (Australian), John Hurt (English), Jeremy Irons (English), Henry Irving (English), Derek Jacobi (English), Al Jolson (U.S.), Boris Karloff (English), Edmund Kean (English), Buster Keaton (U.S.), Harvey Keitel (U.S.), Gene Kelly (U.S.), John Kemble (English), Ben Kingsley (English), Burt Lancaster (U.S.), Charles Laughton (English - U.S.), Stan Laurel (English - U.S.), Bruce Lee (U.S.), Christopher Lee (English), Harold Lloyd (U.S.), Bela Lugosi (Hungarian), Ewan McGregor (Scottish), Ian McKellen (English), Steve McQueen (U.S.), William Macready (English), James Mason (English), Raymond Massey (Canadian), Marcello Mastroianni (Italian), Bernard Miles (English), John Mills (English), Robert Mitchum (U.S.), Dudley Moore (English), Robert Morley (English), Sam Neill (N.Z.), Paul Newman (U.S.), Jack Nicholson (U.S.), Liam Neeson (Irish), David Niven (English), Gary Oldman (English), Laurence Olivier (English), Peter O'Toole (Irish-British), Al Pacino (U.S.), Gregory Peck (U.S.), Donald Pleasence (English), Anthony Quayle (English), Anthony Quinn (U.S.), Ronald Reagan (U.S.), Robert Redford (U.S.), Michael Redgrave (English), Fernando Rey (Spanish), Ralph Richardson (English), Paul Robeson (U.S.), Edward G Robinson (U.S.), Tim Roth (English), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Austrian - U.S.), Paul Scofield (English), Peter Sellers (English), Sam Shepard (U.S.), Sylvester Stallone (U.S.), Konstantin Stanislavsky (Russian), James Stewart (U.S.), Donald Sutherland (Canadian), Jacques Tati (French), Spencer Tracy (U.S.), John Travolta (U.S.), Peter Ustinov (English), Rudolph Valentino (Italian-U.S.), Max Von Sydow (Swedish), John Wayne (U.S.), Johnny Weissmuller (U.S.), Orson Welles (U.S.)

Female Yvonne Arnaud (French), Peggy Ashcroft (English), Tallulah Bankhead (U.S.), Brigitte Bardot (French), Ingrid Bergman (Swedish-U.S.), Sarah Bernhardt (French), Clara Bow (U.S.), Fanny Brice (U.S.), Glenn Close (U.S.), Claudette Colbert (French-U.S.), Joan Crawford (U.S.), Bette Davis (U.S.), Geena Davis (U.S.), Judy Davis (Australian), Judi Dench (English), Catherine Deneuve (French), Marlene Dietrich (German), Faye Dunaway (U.S.), Edith Evans (English), Jane Fonda (U.S.), Jodie Foster (U.S.), Greta Garbo (Swedish), Ava Gardner (U.S.), Judy Garland (U.S.), Lillian Gish (U.S.), Joyce Grenfell (English), Jean Harlow (U.S.), Audrey Hepburn (Belgian - U.S.), Katharine Hepburn (U.S.), Wendy Hiller (English), Holly Hunter (U.S.), Isabelle Huppert (French), Glenda Jackson (English), Jian Qing (Chinese), Diane Keaton (U.S.), Grace Kelly (U.S.), Fanny Kemble (English - U.S.), Nicole Kidman (Australian), Jessica Lange (U.S.), Gertrude Lawrence (English), Vivien Leigh (English), Lotte Lenya (Austrian), Margaret Lockwood (English), Jennifer Lopez (Puerto Rican), Sophia Loren (Italian), Siobhan McKenna (Irish), Shirley MacLaine (U.S.), Melina Mercouri (Greek), Liza Minnelli (U.S.), Helen Mirren (English), Marilyn Monroe (U.S.), Jeanne Moreau (French), Michelle Pfeiffer (U.S.), Mary Pickford (U.S.), Joan Plowright (English), Vanessa Redgrave (English), Julia Roberts (U.S.), Flora Robson (English), Ginger Rogers (U.S.), Margaret Rutherford (English), Susan Sarandon (U.S.), Delphine Seyrig (French), Sarah Siddons (English), Simone Signoret (French), Maggie Smith (English), Meryl Streep (U.S.), Barbra Streisand (U.S.), Janet Suzman (South African), Elizabeth Taylor (English - U.S.), Shirley Temple (U.S.), Ellen Terry (English), Emma Thompson (English), Sybil Thorndike (English), Sigourney Weaver (U.S.), Raquel Welch (U.S.), Mae West (U.S.), Billie Whitelaw (English), Kate Winslet (English), Peg Woffington (Irish)

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

actor

noun

1. A theatrical performer:

actress, player, thespian.

2. One who participates:

participant, party, player.

Translations

مـُمَثِّلمُمَـثِّـل مَسْرَحِيممثل

herec

skuespiller

Schauspieler Schauspielerin Darsteller

ηθοποιός

actor actriz

näitleja

näyttelijätekijä

acteur actrice agent comédien faiseur

glumacglumica

színész

leikari, leikkona

attore attrice

男優

남자 배우

actoractriţăpersonaj

актёр участник актер

herecherečkaúčastník

igralec

glumacglumica

skådespelare

นักแสดงชาย

aktör erkek oyuncu

diễn viên

演员

actor

[ˈæktəʳ] N → actor m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

actor

[ˈæktə^r] n → acteur/trice m/f
He is an actor → Il est acteur.
He is a well-known actor → Il est un acteur connu.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

actor

n (lit, fig) → Schauspieler(in) m(f)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

actor

[ˈæktəʳ] n → attore m

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

act

(ӕkt) verb

1. to do something. It's time the government acted to lower taxes.

2. to behave. He acted foolishly at the meeting.

3. to perform (a part) in a play. He has acted (the part of Romeo) in many theatres; I thought he was dying, but he was only acting (= pretending).

noun

1. something done. Running away is an act of cowardice; He committed many cruel acts.

2. (often with capital) a law. Acts of Parliament.

3. a section of a play. `Hamlet' has five acts.

4. an entertainment. an act called `The Smith Family'.

acting adjective

temporarily carrying out the duties of. He is acting president of the society.

ˈactor – feminine also ˈactress – noun

a performer in a play.

act as

to do the work or duties of. He acts as head of department when his boss is away.

act on

1. to do something following the advice etc of someone. I am acting on the advice of my lawyer.

2. to have an effect on. Certain acids act on metal.

act on behalf of / act for

to do something for (someone else); to act as the representative of (someone). My lawyer is acting on my behalf; He is also acting on behalf of my mother; She is acting for the headmaster in his absence.

in the act (of)

at the exact moment (of doing something). He was caught in the act (of stealing my car).

put on an act

to pretend. I thought she had hurt herself but she was only putting on an act.

actor

→ مـُمَثِّل herec skuespiller Schauspieler ηθοποιός actor näyttelijä acteur glumac attore 男優 남자 배우 acteur skuespiller aktor ator актер skådespelare นักแสดงชาย erkek oyuncu diễn viên 演员

References in classic literature ?

If not the greatest actor of his day, Kynaston was the greatest of the 'boy-actresses.' So exalted was his reputation 'that,' says Downes, 'it has since been disputable among the judicious, whether any woman that succeeded him so sensibly touched the audience as he.'"

View in context

"'No doubt,' replied the actor in question, 'you mean the "Isabella," the "Phyllis," and the "Alexandra."'

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Spirit, hath the actor, but little conscience of the spirit.

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Joy always within, and they, like the actor, inevitably without.

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She has in her possession the card of an actor by profession, who superintended an amateur theatrical performance at Clifton, in which she took part; and to him she has gone to help her.

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Aeschylus first introduced a second actor; he diminished the importance of the Chorus, and assigned the leading part to the dialogue.

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Probably the saying of Theodoras, the tragic actor, was not a bad one: That he would permit no one, not even the meanest actor, to go upon the stage before him, that he might first engage the ear of the audience.

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The actor is bidden to disrobe and wash off his powder and paint: he will not be wanted any more.

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Crawford was considerably the best actor of all: he had more confidence than Edmund, more judgment than Tom, more talent and taste than Mr.

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Neither was what was commonly called the stage door; they were a sort of special and private stage doors used by very special performers, and in this case by the star actor and actress in the Shakespearean performance of the day.

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At the fall of the Roman Empire, which marks the beginning of the Middle Ages, the corrupt Roman drama, proscribed by the Church, had come to an unhonored end, and the actors had been merged into the great body of disreputable jugglers and inferior minstrels who wandered over all Christendom.

View in context

In these, instead or representing real people, the actors represented thoughts, feelings and deeds, good and bad.