From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishactorac‧tor /ˈæktə $ -ər/ ●●● W3 noun [countable] APsomeone who performs in a play or filmleading/principal actor She has starred with many leading actors.character actor (=an actor who takes unusual or interesting roles)COLLOCATIONSadjectivesa good/fine/great actorHe had a reputation as a fine actor.a well-known/famous actorI’d really like to be a famous actor.a professional/amateur actorIt isn’t easy to become a successful professional actor.the leading/principal actor (=acting the most important part)Schwarzenegger 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 actorJacobsen was one of the most accomplished actors of his generation.a comic actorHe 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 actorsNOUN + actora movie/film/screen/Hollywood actorthe movie actor Brad Pitta stage actorMost stage actors are very badly paid.a television/TV actorFor several years he had small parts as a television actor.a comedy actorJason 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. THESAURUSactor someone who performs in a play or filmHer 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 actressesWho was the actress who played Jane Eyre?She’s one of my favourite actresses.star a famous actorJulia 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 filmDaniel 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 filmHer co-star Jodie Foster won the Best Actress Award.the lead the main acting part in a play or filmHe 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 crowdShe 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 illVanessa had flu, and her place was taken by her understudy, Miss Lisa Fennell.a group of actorsthe cast all the actors in a play or filmOther 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 togetherIn 2006, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.The play will be performed by an all-female company.
Examples from the Corpus
actor• Actor Sidney Poitier was honoured with a Life Achievement Award.• Upon graduation in 1944, he moved back to Chicago, seeking work as an actor.• In 1940 he fell for an actor who was his lover for two years before joining the navy in 1942.• I started out in this business not having any concept about what an actor did.• Ben Chaplin is an English actor who had a small part in 'Remains of the Day'.• Leonardo DiCaprio is my favourite actor -- he's so good-looking!• Troublesome Behaviour has been devised by four actors working with director, Martin McNicholas.• I read somewhere that Harry Enfield doesn't believe that actors are brave.• The actor is dependent on the stimulus of other faces and voices.• I think actors still have a lot of life left in them.• His godfather was actor and singer Paul Robeson.leading/principal actor• Over 100 leading actors, actresses and singers have joined his campaign.• Man: Richard Burton apart, you starred with many leading actors - who has impressed you the most?• She met several leading actors and musicians as well as representatives of the Soros foundation which is financing the concerts.• For others, governments are to provide the main resources for and be the principal actors in public communication.• Thus the Father had been the principal actor during the period of the Old Testament.• It is a simplification to banish all but the principal actors from the international stage.• Reporters try to establish what the unfolding events mean to the principal actors concerned. 