What is an AI Actor? Custom Character Creation Explained

August 21, 2025

Table of contents:

Behind every great lead actor is an ensemble of character actors who bring fictional worlds to life. These scene-stealing performers specialize in memorable supporting roles that audiences never forget, even if they can't always remember the actor's name.

What makes a character actor so essential to filmmaking, and how can you create compelling supporting characters for your own projects? Let's dive into this crucial aspect of cinema.

What Is a Character Actor?

A character actor is an actor who specializes in quirky supporting roles that add depth to film storytelling. This character actor definition includes performers who, unlike lead actors who carry the main narrative, bring authenticity and texture to the story world through their unique performances of secondary characters. Understanding what is a character actor is key film terminology for anyone studying movie terminology and acting terminology. These actors are chameleons, often disappearing completely into their roles to create unforgettable supporting characters that you remember long after the credits roll.

Character actors are the backbone of great storytelling, providing the rich fabric of personalities that make fictional worlds feel real and lived in. They're experts at creating fully realised characters in limited screen time, often stealing scenes with their performances.

Character Actors vs Lead Actors

The main difference in this character actor vs lead actor comparison is their function in the story and screen presence. Lead actors drive the main plot forward, are the main focus of the narrative and appear in most scenes of the film. Character actors support and elevate the story world through their specialist performances of secondary characters who may only appear briefly but leave a lasting impression.

Character actors often have distinctive physical features, unique vocal qualities or specific acting styles that make them instantly recognisable, even when playing vastly different roles. Lead actors are chosen for their ability to carry a film's emotional weight and box office appeal, character actors are chosen for their ability to play specific character types and bring authenticity to supporting roles.

History and Famous Examples of Character Actors

Throughout cinema history, famous character actors have created some of the most memorable moments in film. These character actor examples show the power of supporting performances.

Steve Buscemi is the modern character actor, bringing his look and nervous energy to roles from criminals to quirky sidekicks.

Kathy Bates has mastered the art of scene stealing, whether playing nurturing mother figures or terrifying villains.

Danny Trejo has built a career on his tough guy presence, becoming synonymous with tough guy roles in action films.

These examples of character actors demonstrate how character actors often become recognisable by their presence rather than their name. You might not always remember the actor's name but you instantly recognise their face and associate them with specific types of characters or memorable scenes from favourite films.

Why Character Actors Matter in Filmmaking‍

Understanding character actors is key when studying film terms. Character actors are the foundation of great films that make them memorable and believable. They add authenticity to fictional worlds by bringing lived in quality to secondary characters, making the story environment feel real and populated with real people rather than actors playing roles. Their performances often provide comic relief, emotional depth or dramatic tension that lifts the entire production.

These skilled performers often become scene stealers, delivering moments that audiences talk about and remember more than the main plot points. Character actors also provide continuity within film genres, often appearing in multiple projects and helping to establish the visual and emotional language of specific types of stories.

Creating and Casting Characters with LTX Studio

In LTX Studio you don’t need to label your cast as lead or supporting actors. Instead you build and define each character in detail to bring your storytelling with supporting roles vision to life. The platform’s character creation LTX Studio features allow you to create your cast by specifying essential details like name, age, clothing style, voice characteristics and personality traits that will inform their performance throughout your project.

You can choose an actor from the Actor Library for immediate use or build your own unique character using the AI Character Generator for completely custom creations. The platform’s most powerful feature allows you to create Pro Actor LTX Studio functionality by training LTX Studio’s AI to learn your character’s look and mannerisms through detailed text prompts or by uploading three or more reference images.

This Pro Actor functionality ensures that each character remains visually consistent across every scene and camera angle, eliminating the common problem of character appearance variations that can break audience immersion. Once you’ve created and trained your AI actors you can reuse your AI actors across multiple projects through the comprehensive AI Actors / Actor Library, building a personalized roster of characters for future storytelling.

Whether you’re creating supporting characters for a single scene or recurring personalities that appear throughout your narrative, LTX Studio’s character creation tools ensure that every role, from lead to character actor, contributes to your storytelling vision.