Best Character Actors Working Today

The best character actors working today include veterans like Jeffrey Wright, Margo Martindale and Walton Goggins, and rising names like Tramell Tillman, Owen Cooper and Wunmi Mosaku. Below are 36 of them, grouped into veterans, actors having a career moment and newcomers to watch, with the roles you’ll recognize them from.

What is a character actor?

A character actor is an actor who specializes in distinctive, often unusual supporting roles rather than conventional leads. Character actors are valued for range, physical and vocal transformation and specific detail. They tend to work steadily for decades in film, TV and theatre, and audiences often know their faces before their names.

The label is loose. Some actors are called character actors because they disappear into very different parts; others because they play a recognizable type extremely well. Some, like Margo Martindale, embrace the term, while others find it limiting.

Character actor vs. lead actor vs. supporting actor

	Character actor	Lead actor	Supporting actor
What it describes	A type of career built on distinctive roles	The role at the center of the story	Any role that is not the lead
Typical screen time	Small to medium, sometimes leading	Most of the film or series	Small to medium
Hired for	Range, specificity, transformation	Star power and carrying the story	Serving the story around the lead
Example	Stephen Root in Office Space	Jeffrey Wright in American Fiction	Da’Vine Joy Randolph in The Holdovers

A character actor can play a lead, and a star can play a supporting role. “Character actor” describes the shape of a career, while “lead” and “supporting” describe a single role.

All 36 character actors at a glance

#	Actor	Best known for	Career stage
1	Jeffrey Wright	Westworld (Bernard Lowe)	Veteran
2	Michael Shannon	Revolutionary Road (John Givings Jr.)	Veteran
3	Bill Camp	The Night Of (Dennis Box)	Veteran
4	Margo Martindale	Justified (Mags Bennett)	Veteran
5	Stephen Root	Office Space (Milton)	Veteran
6	Stephen McKinley Henderson	Fences (Jim Bono)	Veteran
7	Luis Guzmán	Boogie Nights (Maurice)	Veteran
8	John Carroll Lynch	Fargo (Norm Gunderson)	Veteran
9	Gary Cole	Office Space (Bill Lumbergh)	Veteran
10	Denis O’Hare	True Blood (Russell Edgington)	Veteran
11	Stellan Skarsgård	Chernobyl (Boris Shcherbina)	Veteran
12	Delroy Lindo	Get Shorty (Bo Catlett)	Veteran
13	Amy Madigan	Field of Dreams (Annie Kinsella)	Veteran
14	Katherine LaNasa	The Pitt (Dana Evans)	Veteran
15	Walton Goggins	The Shield (Shane Vendrell)	Having a moment
16	Jennifer Coolidge	American Pie (Stifler’s mom)	Having a moment
17	Kathryn Hahn	Step Brothers (Alice)	Having a moment
18	Brian Tyree Henry	Atlanta (Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles)	Having a moment
19	Jesse Plemons	Friday Night Lights (Landry Clarke)	Having a moment
20	Hong Chau	Downsizing (Ngoc Lan Tran)	Having a moment
21	Da’Vine Joy Randolph	Dolemite Is My Name (Lady Reed)	Having a moment
22	Colman Domingo	Fear the Walking Dead (Victor Strand)	Having a moment
23	Ebon Moss-Bachrach	Girls (Desi)	Having a moment
24	Stephen Graham	This Is England (Combo)	Having a moment
25	Liza Colón-Zayas	The Bear (Tina)	Having a moment
26	Benedict Wong	The Martian (Bruce Ng)	Having a moment
27	Tramell Tillman	Severance (Seth Milchick)	Rising
28	Jeff Hiller	Somebody Somewhere (Joel)	Rising
29	Hannah Einbinder	Hacks (Ava Daniels)	Rising
30	Owen Cooper	Adolescence (Jamie Miller)	Rising
31	Erin Doherty	The Crown (Princess Anne)	Rising
32	Aimee Lou Wood	Sex Education (Aimee Gibbs)	Rising
33	Yura Borisov	Compartment No. 6	Rising
34	Wunmi Mosaku	His House	Rising
35	Teyana Taylor	A Thousand and One	Rising
36	Zach Cherry	You	Rising

Best character actors working today: the veterans

These actors have built long careers on supporting roles, and casting directors keep calling them back.

Character actors having a moment

These actors have spent years in supporting roles and are now getting the awards, the leading parts or the recognition to match.

Rising character actors to watch

Newer names who broke through in 2024 to 2026 with supporting roles that people are still talking about.

Famous lead actors who are often called character actors

Some of the most transformational actors in film are stars, not character actors, even though they disappear into roles the way character actors do. Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hardy, Colin Farrell and Emma Stone are lead actors known for physical and vocal transformation, which is why they often appear on character actor lists.

Great character actors of the past

Hollywood’s Golden Age was built on character actors. Peter Lorre and Thelma Ritter became famous for vivid supporting work, and Walter Brennan won three Academy Awards for supporting roles. Later, Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh and John Cazale defined the modern character actor. We also remember two actors from earlier versions of this list: Lance Reddick (The Wire, John Wick), who died in 2023, and David Warner (Titanic, Tron), who died in 2022.

Why character actors matter

Character actors give a story its texture. A lead carries the plot, but the people around them make the world believable: the boss, the neighbor, the cop, the rival. Casting directors often say a strong supporting cast is what separates a good project from a great one.

For working actors, it is also the most reliable career path in the business. If you are building your own range, our guides to types of acting roles, building a character and method acting are good next steps, and our monologue database lets you practice with distinctive characters.

Character actor FAQs

What is a character actor?

A character actor is a performer who specializes in distinctive supporting roles rather than conventional leads. Character actors are known for range, transformation and memorable detail, and they often work steadily for decades in film, TV and theatre without becoming household names.

Who is the best character actor working today?

There is no single answer, but Jeffrey Wright, Margo Martindale, Walton Goggins and Stephen McKinley Henderson are among the most respected character actors working today. Recent award winners such as Tramell Tillman, Katherine LaNasa and Amy Madigan show the next wave.

Are character actors paid less than lead actors?

Usually, yes. Character actors typically earn less per project than star leads, but supporting roles take fewer shooting days, so many character actors work on more projects each year and build long, stable careers.

Can a character actor become a leading actor?

Yes. Jeffrey Wright led American Fiction, Colman Domingo led Rustin and Walton Goggins co-led Fallout after years of supporting work. Many character actors move between both kinds of role.

How do you become a character actor?

Train widely, build a range of distinct characters you can play convincingly, and say yes to small, specific roles. Character actors are hired for what they bring to a scene, so audition with choices, not just the lines.

Award information sourced from the 2025 Emmy winners list, the 2026 Oscar winners list and The Hollywood Reporter.