Leading actor

A leading actor, leading actress, or leading man or lady or simply lead , plays a main role in a film, television show or play. The word lead may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and leading actor may refer to a person who typically plays such parts or an actor with a respected body of work. Some <a href="/facts/Actor/JlSNxot8">actors</a> are <a href="/facts/Typecasting_(acting)/Js5xYKud">typecast</a> as leads, but most play the lead in some performances and <a href="/facts/Supporting_actor/IJqP2F2L">supporting</a> or <a href="/facts/Character_actor/KCaW7YrQ">character</a> roles in others.
Sometimes there is more than one significant leading role in a dramatic piece, and the actors are said to play co-leads; a large <a href="/facts/Supporting_actor/IJqP2F2L">supporting role</a> may be considered a secondary lead. Award nominations for acting often reflect such ambiguities. Therefore, sometimes two actors in the same performance piece are nominated Oscars for <a href="/facts/Academy_Award_for_Best_Actor/ESeGU7vo">Best Actor</a> or <a href="/facts/Academy_Award_for_Best_Actress/gdtCoxC8">Best Actress</a>—categories traditionally reserved for leads. For example, in 1935 <a href="/facts/Clark_Gable/LXtRcETs">Clark Gable</a>, <a href="/facts/Charles_Laughton/Ug3doeJS">Charles Laughton</a> and <a href="/facts/Franchot_Tone/WCFEzA4U">Franchot Tone</a> were each nominated for the Best Actor <a href="/facts/Academy_Awards/CwTxYuNQ">Academy Award</a> for <a href="/facts/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty_(1935_film)/jdy3Y9nT">Mutiny on the Bounty</a>. There can even be controversy over whether a particular performance should be nominated in the Best Actor/Actress or Best Supporting Actor/Best Supporting Actress category; for instance, <a href="/facts/The_Godfather/fHRPS1yq">The Godfather</a>'s <a href="/facts/Al_Pacino/8tPrw0PP">Al Pacino</a> boycotted the <a href="/facts/45th_Academy_Awards/8CfU6THI">45th Academy Awards</a> ceremony since he was insulted at being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor award; he noted that he had more screen time than his co-star and Best Actor winner <a href="/facts/Marlon_Brando/9eYnscbA">Marlon Brando</a> and so he should have received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

A <a href="/facts/Title_role/SWvWkogg">title role</a> is often but not necessarily the lead. A lead role must also be differentiated from a <a href="/facts/Starring_role/53qyeoDo">starring role</a>, which means that an actor is credited as a part of the main cast but not that they necessarily play the main character.

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Leading actor