play a character
/pleɪ ə ˈkær.ək.tər/
Meaning
This phrase means to act as a specific fictional person in a play, movie, TV show, or game. It describes the job of an actor or someone participating in role-play. It can also metaphorically mean pretending to be someone you are not in real life.
Examples
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The actor had to play a character who was much older than him.
The actor had to play a character who was much older than him.
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She loves to play a character with a lot of secrets in the new drama series.
She loves to play a character with a lot of secrets in the new drama series.
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In this video game, you can play a character of your own design.
In this video game, you can play a character of your own design.
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He is not actually mean; he is just playing a character for the show.
He is not actually mean; he is just playing a character for the show.
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My sister is going to play a character in the school play next month.
My sister is going to play a character in the school play next month.
Common Mistakes
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✗ He plays a person very well in the movie.
✓ He plays a character very well in the movie.
In acting contexts, we use 'character' rather than 'person' to refer to a fictional role.
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✗ She made a character in the new theater play.
✓ She played a character in the new theater play.
We use the verb 'play' (or 'portray') for acting out a role, not 'make'.
Related Expressions
Practice
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It must be difficult for an actor to ___ who is completely different from them.
💡 act as a fictional person
Show answer
play a character
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She is excited to ___ of the villain in the upcoming movie.
💡 act the specific part (use 'the')
Show answer
play the character