This is a character actor. Character actor and his roles on stage What does a character actor mean?

Actor M. F. Astangov, who struggled for a long time with the role of Grigory Guy in Pogodin’s “My Friend,” was helped by falling in love with that special, high, truly Soviet breed of new people, whom Pogodin’s hero worthily represented. As often happens, the role was difficult. Director A.D. Popov left rehearsals gloomy and dissatisfied. There was no Guy - the owner, the man walking freely and spaciously through life.

The birth of the role was helped by chance. “...Good friends introduced me to an engineer who had just arrived from a large construction site,” Astangov said. – He is dressed in a khaki paramilitary suit and white burkas. When I saw him in this uniform, I almost gasped: this is my Guy’s costume. And what do you think? On the next run, I was already dressed like my new friend, having thickened myself with thickness. The former stiffness began to evaporate, the step became firmer, the gesture became wider, I felt that the necessary strength and confidence had been acquired. “The “master”, the “master” began to appear, which Alexey Dmitrievich had been seeking from me for so long.”

Astangov took with him to the performance a paramilitary suit, white cloaks, and a accent with a soft southern accent. But the main thing is Sergei Ivanovich M. - a major builder, whose biography literally echoed the biography of Guy - a former mechanic, participant civil war, who graduated from the Industrial Academy, traveled to the United States of America, and occupied command posts at the most important Soviet construction sites - Sergei Ivanovich M. helped Astangov discover the kernel of Guy’s role.

At rehearsals, Astangov looked for and practiced the special gait of the hero, who is cramped in the confines of a room, who is accustomed to the uninhabited land of new buildings dug up in trenches and mounds, in stacks of timber, in piles of bricks. Astangov mastered the masterful, swift step and characteristic gesture of the hero - arms thrown above his head, wide open, hugging the air, the earth, and his comrades. Those who saw and heard Guy-Astangov remembered his jubilant exclamation: “I’m alive, my friends, I’m alive!”

They say that bad actor the mouth works, the actor has a better mouth and eyes. “Nikolai Batalov, in the image of Figaro,” said the wonderful Moscow Art Theater actor M. M. Tarkhanov, “has a heel role!” A half-joking, but very deep and important remark. An actor must be able to do everything. Not only his face, eyes, hands, but also his back, shoulder blades, calves, even ankles should be expressive. He must penetrate the hidden and intimate world of his hero's soul. But he must give spectacular and expressive flesh to the image. Both of these processes - internal comprehension and external realization of the image - are inseparable, interconnected, mutually necessary for each other. It doesn't matter in what order they happen. Often - at the same time. But only in their agreement and balance is the sought-after harmony of the image achieved. Both the actor and the director struggle with this task during rehearsals. There is an obligatory concept of “character actor,” that is, a master who creates a unique and unique character on stage, with equal ability for external and internal transformation. Stanislavski was a great character actor. To be convinced of this, we, who have never seen him on stage, should look at photographs of Stanislavsky from different years.

Here are the lordly and weak hands of old Gaev, who throughout his life have learned only to hold a billiard cue and send the ball into the pocket. Here is the energetically closed, dry hand of Dr. Shtokman - a worker, a rebel, a defender of the truth, tense fingers directed towards the interlocutor, in the characteristic of the gesture there is a frozen moment of polemic, disagreement, perseverance, the strength of one’s own conviction. Here is the inspired, beautiful profile of Chekhov's Astrov, the proud posture of his dark-haired head, the freedom and artistry of his pose.

Here is the puffy, sideburned face of the Moscow master Famusov, with a capricious, satiated grimace. The ruinous appearance, mossiness, and dilapidation of General Krutitsky; oversaturated with stupidity, swollen from idleness, with sagging cheeks, in a funny woman’s headband, in tufts of sparse hair, the physiognomy of Moliere’s “imaginary patient.” Here, freely stretched out on the bunks of the shelter, picturesque and in rags, is Gorky’s former “handsome man” Satin...

Characteristic

And characteristic, -and I , -oh ; -ren , -rna , -rno .

1. (characteristic ).

Possessing pronounced, peculiar features.

Characteristic appearance.

His [the manager's] figure, on the contrary, had some kind of pleasant proportionality, even harmony, and was extremely characteristic. Grigorovich, Anton-Goremyka.

The displaying kosach takes a characteristic pose: its wings are lowered, its tail is fanned out, its neck is swollen, stretched forward and slightly tilted. Hunting calendar.

The whitish color of the massive crystalline rock [granite] both on the land surface and in the water is so characteristic that it is impossible to make a mistake. Arsenyev, In the mountains of Sikhote-Alin.

2. (characteristic ).

Inherent, characteristic of someone, something, constituting someone's. a peculiar feature, a distinctive feature.

From the window characteristic appearance Petersburg outskirts - roofs, vacant lots, courtyards, factory chimneys. Korolenko, History of my contemporary.

From artists you can learn to directly perceive the environment - a property characteristic of children. Paustovsky, Prose Poetry.

3. (characteristic ) only full f.

Peculiar to a certain people, era (about dancing).

Characteristic dances.

Marked by a pronounced social, everyday, external originality.

Characteristic roles. Character Actor (performing such roles).

4. (characteristic ). outdated And simple

Possessing character (in 2 meanings), a firm, strong will.

A proud, characterful, virtuous girl appeared. Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment.

- You are a smart and characterful woman. And if so, then you are no less in demand than Vasily. Nikolaev, Harvest.

Having an angry, hot-tempered, stubborn, etc. character.

Lev Stepanovich was a man of character; he did not consider it necessary to restrain himself. Herzen, Duty First.

- So he’s angry with you? - Oh, typical! It happened that he would start swearing - why? - unknown. A. Tarasov, Large animal.

Small academic dictionary. - M.: Institute of Russian Language of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Evgenieva A. P.:

1957-1984.:

Synonyms

Antonyms See what “characteristic” is in other dictionaries: CHARACTERISTIC, characteristic, characteristic; characteristic, characteristic, typical. 1. (characteristic). Possessing sharply expressed, very noticeable features and traits. Characteristic figure. Characteristic clothing. 2. (characteristic). Clearly expressing character... ...

Dictionary Ushakova

Cm … Synonym dictionary Having his own distinctive features

; colloquially: wayward, stubborn. A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. Popov M., 1907. CHARACTER from the word character. a) Stubborn. b) Special. Explanation 25000... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language Dictionary of difficulties of pronunciation and stress in modern Russian language

I character actor adj. 1. ratio with noun character I 3., associated with it 2. Expressing a certain psychological type. II character actor adj. decomposition 1. ratio with noun character I 1. associated with it 2. Possessing a difficult character [... Modern explanatory dictionary of the Russian language by Efremova

Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

CHARACTERISTIC, oh, oh; ren, rna. 1. Stubborn, loving to do things his own way, with a difficult, wayward character (simple). X. man. 2. characteristic role is the same as characteristic role. II. CHARACTERISTIC, oh, oh; ren, rna. 1. With pronounced features... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

; colloquially: wayward, stubborn. A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. Popov M., 1907. CHARACTER from the word character. a) Stubborn. b) Special. Explanation 25000... ...- I hara/kterny aya, oe; ren, rna, rno. 1) only full. In performing arts: characteristic of a certain people, era, public environment; expressing a certain psychological type. Xth role. Xth genre figure. Character actor, artist; ... ... Dictionary of many expressions

Adj., used. compare often Morphology: characteristic, characteristic, typical, characteristic; more characteristic 1. Characteristic is something that is typical, characteristic of someone or something. Feature novel. | Characteristic sign… … Dmitriev's Explanatory Dictionary

; colloquially: wayward, stubborn. A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. Popov M., 1907. CHARACTER from the word character. a) Stubborn. b) Special. Explanation 25000... ...- I. CHARACTERISTIC I oh, oh. CHARACTER oh, oh. caractère avoir du caractère. outdated and vernacular Powerful, strong-willed, stubborn. BAS 1. The woman is good, reasonable, .. only a little characterful, loves to command. Stanyukovich at night. Why don’t you honey... Historical Dictionary Gallicisms of the Russian language

Coordinates: 37°13′23″ N. w. 38°55′20″ E. d. / 37.223056° n. w. 38.922222° E. d. ... Wikipedia

Article from the section Hindu Philosophy of the Sankhya School · Yoga · Nyaya · Vaisheshika · Purva Mimamsa · Vedanta (Advaita · Vish... Wikipedia

Separately, unmerged, lonely, alone, one by one, superficially, visit by visit, lesson by piece, separately, separately, individually, separately, separately, apart, apart, scattered, scattered, scattered, scattered, at retail; drinking; oases,... ... Ushakova

Dictionary Ushakova

At left, American players McMillen No. 13 and Henderson No. 6 begin their victory celebrations prematurely. Right: Alexander Belov No. 14 puts the winning ball into the basket for the USSR national team. James Forbes No. 10 lies on the floor.... ... Wikipedia

Lak-Dargin languages- Laksko Dargin languages a subgroup of Nakh-Dagestan languages. On L.D. I. say the Dargins and Laks living in mountainous Dagestan, as well as the Dargins living on the plain in the villages of Kostek (Khasavyurt district) and Gerga (Kayakent region), part of the Laks... Linguistic encyclopedic dictionary

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Books

Tricky game, Alves Katya, Fraulein Adele behaves very suspiciously. This is extremely uncharacteristic of her. She completely stopped going to the general gathering of the Super Secret Gang of Fluffies and is constantly in a hurry to get somewhere. Maybe… Category: Fairy tales by foreign writers Series: Publisher: Willie Winky Editorial,
Tricky game, Katya Alves, Marta Valmaseda, Editorial team "Willy Winky" presents! Fraulein Adele is behaving very suspiciously. This is extremely uncharacteristic of her. She completely stopped attending the general gathering of the Super Secret Gang of Fluffies and... Category: For children Series: Super Secret Fuzzy Gang Publisher: PUBLISHING HOUSE AST, Manufacturer:

The essence of the term is more succinctly defined by the Encyclopedia Britannica, according to which a character actor is an actor who plays bright roles.

From the history of theater

In cinema

American film critics often note that character actors Always are minor characters. Professor Ira Koenigsberg defines a character actor in the Complete Dictionary of Cinematography: “A character actor is an artist who specializes in minor roles clearly expressed and often humorous content.” As noted by the famous American film critic David Thomson, a character actor can play any role in a film, with the exception of the main one. Range similar roles for a character actor, according to Thomson, begins with the roles of the main characters(while not being decisive, key characters) and ends with roles a la “appeared in the frame and immediately fell dead” (in American film criticism, such characters are usually called “red shirts”).

Character actor career

Theater and film critic Michael Anderegg notes the difference between a character actor and a film or television star, which is that an actor embodies a role, while a star embodies myself in one role or another.

There are several reasons why many actors choose character roles. It is much easier to audition for a supporting role than to get a leading role in a film or TV series. Most films only have one to three main heroes, and there are usually more secondary characters. Also important type actor, according to which he gets the role: actors Dennis Hopper and Steve Buscemi achieved fame playing a lot of villain roles in films, and Jane Lynch, Melissa McCarthy, Lisa Kudrow and Cloris Leachman became known for their roles of eccentric women.

The Path to Leading Roles

Some actors who started out playing character roles eventually achieved fame in leading roles. These include Kathy Bates, who played her first main role in 1990 in the film “Misery” and after that she received a couple more leading roles, and also returned to the status of an episode actress. Whoopi Goldberg, Fran Drescher, Angela Lansbury, Heath Ledger, Felicity Huffman, David Carradine, Sean Connery, Lesley-Anne Down, Christopher Lloyd, William H. Macy, Meryl Streep, Donald Sutherland, Jodie Foster, Dana Delaney, Maggie Smith, Tim Roth, Laurence Olivier also in different years After character roles, they achieved success by playing leading roles.

Notes

Character Actor// Theater Encyclopedia / Ch. ed. P. A. Markov. - M.: State. scientific publishing house "Sov. Encyclopedia", 1967. - T. 5. - P. 579.
Litosova M.K. Professional speech of an actor and director: terminological and non-terminological phrases: tutorial for students theater universities. - M.: , 1989. - P. 99. - 208 p.
Romanovsky I. I. Character Actor// Mass media: dictionary of terms and concepts. - M.: Union of Journalists of Russia, 2004. - P. 400. - 477 p. - ISBN 5-8982-3050-5.
Dubrovskaya O. N. Character Actor// Theater: Encyclopedia. - M.: OLMA-PRESS Education, 2002. - P. 290. - 320 p. - 5 thousand, copies.

- In the section on the question What does a character actor mean? given by the author Alira the best answer is A character actor, an actor performing roles marked by a pronounced class, everyday external and internal originality. Rejected as a role by the realist school performing arts , the concept of Character Actor in modern theater used only to emphasize the dominant feature creative individuality
In the 18th century distinguished between actors who played character and semi-character (demi-caractere) roles in comedies, bourgeois dramas and melodramas (tragedy required a sublimely abstract, non-domestic manner of acting). Among the largest Russian X. a. late 18th - early 19th centuries - A. M. Krutitsky, S. N. Sandunov, A. E. Ponomarev, A. A. Pomerantseva and others. Development of realism. trends in Europe t-re 19th century. led to the need to connect any character with the environment, era, society, and everyday life. Actors striving for artistic excellence. True, they were looking for social, historical features in all the types they depicted. , household characteristics. M. S. Shchepkin is typical in the tragic role of the Baron (“ Stingy Knight"Pushkin), V.V. Samoilov - in the role of King Lear, L.P. Nikulina-K Ositskaya - in the role of Katerina ("The Thunderstorm"). In all these cases, the specificity was not only external, but also internal: it colored the psychology of the character, his aspirations and feelings. A. E. Martynov in the “characteristic” role of Tikhon (“The Thunderstorm”) and P. M. Sadovsky in the role of Lyubim Tortsov (“Poverty is not a vice”) and others went beyond this. role, deepened their play to a tragic sound. Realism, in fact, eliminated the role, and in this sense, K. S. Stanislavsky said that character must be present in every image, including the hero, the lover. . a. is usually used in modern literature only to emphasize the dominant feature of the actor’s personality.