From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsupporting part/role/actor etcsupporting part/role/actor etcAMAPa small part in a play or film, or the actor who plays such a part → supporting
Examples from the Corpus
supporting part/role/actor etc• At a crucial moment, the United States played an important supporting role.• Its most unarguable successes are in the main supporting roles.• The meats are unfailingly tender and flavorful, and the stuffed tomatoes deserve a Tony Award for best supporting actor.• The three supporting roles are all superbly played.• Hopper won a supporting role in that film too.• Benicio Del Toro won the best supporting actor prize for Traffic.• But the chief joy despite several eye-catching supporting roles remains watching Courtenay milk the script for all its worth.• He felt the other two were satisfied to play supporting roles to Gedge and to a lesser extent, himself. 