[[Image:ActorsOffSetLaughing.jpg|thumb|Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming.]]
{{Otheruses}}
An '''actor''', '''actress''' or '''player''' (see [[actor#Terminology|terminology]]) is a person who [[acts]] in a [[drama]]tic production and who works in [[film]], [[television]], [[Theater|theatre]], or [[radio programming|radio]] in that capacity. The ancient Greek word for an actor, ''hypokrites'', when rendered as a [[verb]] means "to interpret";<ref name="hypocrite">''Hypokrites'' (related to our wod for [[Hypocrisy|hypocrite]]) also means, less often, "to answer" the tragic chorus. See Weimann (1978, 2).</ref> in this sense, an actor is one who interprets a dramatic [[Role (performing arts)|character]].<ref name="confused">This is true whether the character than an actor plays is based on a real person or a fictional one, even themselves (when the actor is 'playing themselves,' as in some forms of experimental [[performance art]], or, more commonly, as in John Malkovich's performance in the film ''[[Being John Malkovich]]''); to act is to create a character in performance: "The dramatic world can be extended to include the 'author', the 'audience' and even the 'theatre'; but these remain 'possible' surrogates, not the 'actual' referents as such" (Elam 1980, 110).</ref>

== Terminology ==
The word "actor" refers to one who acts, whilst "actress" refers specifically to a female who acts. The English word "actress" does not derive from the Latin "actrix", probably not even by way of French "actrice"; according to the [[Oxford English Dictionary]], "actress" was "probably formed independently" in English. The Oxford English Dictionary also points out that originally "'actor' was used for both sexes". This gender-neutral usage has re-emerged in modern English.<ref>dictionary.com ''[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/actor actor]'' retrieved 13 November 2007</ref> As "actress" is a specifically feminine word, some [[feminist]] groups assert that the word "actress" is sexist. "Actress" remains a commonly used word; however, while "actor" was traditionally used in the context of the performing arts to refer to male performers only, it is now sometimes used{{Fact|date=December 2007}} to refer to both men and women.

The gender-neutral term "player" may also be used. It was commonly used in film in the early days of the [[Production Code]], but is now generally deemed archaic. However, it remains in use in the [[theatre]], often incorporated into the name of a theatre group or company (such as the [[East West Players]]).

== History==
[[Image:Flickr 6130489.jpg|thumb|Two actors performing during a [[theatre|theatric]] [[play]].]]
The first recorded case of an actor performing took place in 534 BC (probably on [[23 November]]{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, though the changes in calendar over the years make it hard to determine exactly) when the [[Greece|Greek]] performer [[Thespis]] stepped on to the stage at the ''Theatre Dionysus'' and became the first known person to speak words as a character in a play or story. Prior to Thespis' act, stories were only known to be told in [[song]] and dance and in [[Perspective (storytelling)|third person]] narrative. In honour of Thespis, actors are commonly called ''Thespians''. Theatrical legend to this day maintains that Thespis exists as a mischievous spirit, and disasters in the theatre are sometimes blamed on his ghostly intervention.

Actors were traditionally not people of high status, and in the [[Early Middle Ages]] travelling acting troupes were often viewed with distrust. In many parts of Europe, actors could not even receive a Christian burial, and traditional beliefs of the region and time period held that this left any actor forever condemned. However, this negative perception was largely reversed in the 19th and 20th centuries as acting has become an honored and popular profession and art. Part of the cause is the easier popular access to dramatic film entertainment and the resulting rise of the [[movie star]] &mdash; as regards both their social status and the salaries they command.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}<!-- and unclear sentence --> The combination of public presence and wealth has profoundly rehabilitated their image.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}

In the past, only men could become actors in some societies. In the ancient Greece and Rome <ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2002_52_fri_04.shtml Women Actors in Ancient Rome] 27 December 2002, BBC</ref> and the [[Middle Ages|medieval world]], it was considered disgraceful for a woman to go on the stage, and this belief continued right up until the 17th century, when in [[Venice]] it was broken. In the time of [[William Shakespeare]], women's roles were generally played by men or boys. The British prohibition was ended in the reign of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] who enjoyed watching female actors (actresses) on stage.

== Techniques ==
=== General ===
{{Main|Acting}}
Acting and actresses employ a variety of techniques that are learned through training and experience. Some of these are:
# The rigorous use of the voice to communicate a character's lines and express emotion. This is achieved through attention to diction and projection through correct breathing and articulation. It is also achieved through the tone and emphasis that an actor puts on words
# Physicalisation of a role in order to create a believable character for the audience and to use the acting space appropriately and correctly
# Use of gesture to complement the voice, interact with other actors and to bring emphasis to the words in a play, as well as having symbolic meaning.

[[Shakespeare]] is believed to have been commenting on the acting style and techniques of his era when [[Hamlet]] gives his advice to the players in the play-within-the-play. He encourages the actors to “speak the speech&nbsp;... as I pronounced it to you,” and avoid “saw[ing] the air too much with your hand” , because even in a “whirlwind of passion, you must&nbsp;... give it smoothness.” On the other hand, Hamlet urges the players to “Be not too tame neither.” He suggests that they make sure to “suit the action to the word, the word to the action”, taking care to “o'erstep not the modesty of nature.” As well, he told the players to not “... let those that play your clowns&nbsp;... laugh, to set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too,” which Hamlet considered to be a “villainous” and “pitiful” tactic.

The English critic [[Benedict Nightingale]] discussed and compared great classical actors of the long dead past, and the present, and their magical effects upon audiences, in this 1983 article from the New York Times, available online.<ref>[http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?_r=1&res=9B07E0DD1F38F931A35753C1A965948260&oref=slogin] New York Times</ref>

=== As opposite sex ===
Historically, acting was considered a man's profession; so, in [[Shakespeare]]'s time, for instance, men and boys played all roles, including the female parts. This was the case until the [[Restoration drama|Restoration]] of the theater in 1660, the first occurrence of the term ''actress'' in the [[OED]] being by [[John Dryden|Dryden]] in 1700.

In [[Japan]], men ([[onnagata]]) took over the female roles in [[kabuki]] theatre when women were banned from performing on stage during the [[Edo period]]. However, some forms of [[Culture of China|Chinese]] drama have ''females'' playing all the roles.

Today, women sometimes play the roles of [[prepubescent]] boys, because in some regards a woman has a closer resemblance to a boy than does a man. The role of [[Peter Pan]], for example, is traditionally played by a woman. The tradition of the [[principal boy]] in [[pantomime]] may be compared. An adult playing a child occurs more in theater than in film. The exception to this is voice actors in [[animated]] films and television programmes, where boys are generally voiced by women, as heard in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' where the voice of [[Bart Simpson]] is provided by [[Nancy Cartwright (actress)|Nancy Cartwright]]. [[Opera]] has several "[[pants role]]s" traditionally sung by women, usually [[mezzo-soprano]]s. Examples are Hansel in ''[[Hänsel und Gretel (opera)|Hänsel und Gretel]]'', and [[The Marriage of Figaro#Characters|Cherubino]] in ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]''.

Having an actor play the opposite sex for comic effect is also a long standing tradition in comic theatre and film. Most of Shakespeare's comedies include instances of [[cross-dressing]], such as [[Francis Flute]] in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', and both [[Dustin Hoffman]] and [[Robin Williams]] appeared in hit comedy films where they were required to play most scenes dressed as women. The movie ''[[A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum]]'' stars [[Jack Gilford]] dressing as a young bride, among other slapstick comedy. [[Tony Curtis]] and [[Jack Lemmon]] famously posed as women to escape gangsters in the [[Billy Wilder]] film ''[[Some Like It Hot]]''. Cross-dressing for comic effect was a frequently used device in most of the thirty [[Carry On films]]. Several roles in modern plays and musicals are played by a member of the opposite sex, such as the character "Edna Turnblad" in ''Hairspray''&nbsp;&mdash; played by [[Divine (actor)|Divine]] in the [[Hairspray (1988 film)|original film]], [[Harvey Fierstein]] in the [[Hairspray (musical)|Broadway musical]], and [[John Travolta]] in the [[Hairspray (2007 film)|2007 movie musical]]. Sometimes the issue is further complicated through the role of a woman acting as a man pretending to be a woman, like [[Julie Andrews]] in ''[[Victor/Victoria]]'' or [[Gwyneth Paltrow]] in ''[[Shakespeare in Love]]''.

== Acting awards ==
* [[Academy Awards]], also known as the Oscars, for film
* [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival Awards]], international French festival for world wide films and documentaries
* [[Golden Globe Award]]s for film and television
* [[Emmy Award]]s for television
* [[Genie Awards]] for Canadian film
* [[Gemini Awards]] for Canadian television
* [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award]] for film and television; also known as [[BAFTA]]
* [[Tony Award]]s for the theatre (specifically, [[Broadway theatre]])
* [[European Theatre Awards]] for the theatre
* [[Laurence Olivier Awards]] for the theatre (named in honour of actor [[Sir Laurence Olivier]])
* [[Screen Actors Guild]] Awards for actors in film and television
* [[Indian National Film Awards]] for the [[Indian cinema]].
* [[Filmfare Awards]] honors excellence in the Indian Film Industry ([[Bollywood]]) - limited to Hindi language films only.
* [[César Award]]s for French film
* [[AFI Awards]] for Australian film.
* [[Berlinale]] German film festival in Berlin (Golden and Silver Bear)
* [[Piala Citra (Citra Award)]] for Indonesian film.

== See also ==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* [[Acting]]
* [[Voice Actor]]
* [[Leading actor]]
* [[Supporting actor]]
* [[Character actor]]
* [[Bit part]]
* [[Movie star]]
* [[Celebrity]]
* [[Stunt work]]
* [[List of male film actors (A-K)|List of male film actors]]
* [[List of female film actors]]
{{col-break}}
* [[Method acting]]
* [[Presentational acting and Representational acting]]
* [[Improvisational theatre]]
* [[Constantin Stanislavski]]
* [[Michael Chekhov]]
* [[Thespis]]
* [[Vaudeville]]
* [[Charisma]]
* [[Q Score]]
{{col-end}}

== Further reading ==
* ''An Actor Prepares'' by [[Konstantin Stanislavski]] (Theatre Arts Books, ISBN 0-87830-983-7, 1989)
* ''A Dream of Passion: The Development of the Method'' by [[Lee Strasberg]] (Plume Books, ISBN 0-452-26198-8, 1990)
* ''Sanford Meisner on Acting'' by [[Sanford Meisner]] (Vintage, ISBN 0-394-75059-4, 1987)
* ''Letters to a Young Actor'' by [[Robert Brustein]] (Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-00806-2, 2005).
* ''The Alexander Technique Manual'' by [[Richard Brennan]] (Connections Book Publishing ISBN 1-85906-163-X, 2004)
* ''The Empty Space'' by [[Peter Brook]]

== Works cited ==
* Elam, Keir. 1980. ''The [[Semiotics]] of Theatre and Drama''. New Accents Ser. London and New York: Methuen. ISBN 0416720609.
* Weimann, Robert. 1978. ''Shakespeare and the Popular Tradition in the Theater: Studies in the Social Dimension of Dramatic Form and Function.'' Ed. Robert Schwartz. Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801835062.

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionarypar|actor|actress|player}}
* [http://www.actorsequity.org/ Actors' Equity Association (AEA)]: a union representing U. S. theatre actors and stage managers.
* [http://www.aftra.org/ American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA)]: a union representing U. S. television and radio actors and broadcasters (on-air journalists, etc.).
* [http://www.equity.org.uk/ British Actors' Equity]: a trade union representing UK artists, including actors, singers, dancers, choreographers, stage managers, theatre directors and designers, variety and circus artists, television and radio presenters, walk-on and supporting artists, stunt performers and directors and theatre fight directors.
* [http://www.alliance.org.au Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance]: an Australian/New Zealand trade union representing everyone in the media, entertainment, sports, and arts industries.
* [http://www.sag.org/ Screen Actors Guild (SAG)]: a union representing U. S. film and TV actors.
* [http://www.emasla.com Los Angeles Acting School (EMAS)]: Acting School specializing in Meisner Technique Training.

[[Category:Actors| ]]
[[Category:Entertainment occupations]]
[[Category:Acting]]
[[Category:Lists of actors]]
[[Category:Theatrical professions]]

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