Topic Guide

What Is Character acting?

Character acting is a subject covered in depth across 2 podcast episodes in our database. Below you'll find key concepts, expert insights, and the top episodes to listen to — all distilled from hours of conversation by leading experts.

Browse all character acting episodes →Best character acting episodes ranked →

Key Concepts in Character acting

Fish out of water trope

This describes a common narrative device where a character is placed in an unfamiliar environment, leading to comedic or dramatic situations. Paramount initially rejected 'Coming to America' due to perceiving it as a generic 'fish out of water' story, highlighting how studios can dismiss concepts they view as overused before unique creative additions redefine them.

Character-driven storytelling

This refers to narratives where the personalities and interactions of distinct characters are central to the plot and appeal. The episode illustrates how 'Coming to America' transformed from a generic premise to a beloved film when Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall took on multiple, distinct characters, each drawing on personal experiences and observations, thereby making the story uniquely engaging.

Second city improv training

Richard Kind describes Second City as his "Harvard of acting," detailing its origins from University of Chicago intellectuals and its evolution into a comedy powerhouse [14:26, 15:13]. His personal experience highlights how nightly improvisation, even for someone who initially claimed "I don't improvise," became a rigorous and essential method for developing into a skilled actor [17:16].

Maple vs. satellite character acting

This is Kind's self-developed framework for categorizing actors within a production [22:18]. "Maple" actors are the central figures, like the lead in a sitcom around whom the show revolves. "Satellite" character actors, like Kind himself, exist to "spice up" the main narrative and are tasked with delivering specific comedic beats, often needing to "get a laugh every three lines" in a three-camera sitcom to maintain audience engagement [24:22].

"telling the truth" in acting

Kind's personal evolution in acting involved moving from merely being "entertaining"—a phase where he felt he "pulled the wool over people's eyes"—to a more mature stage where he learned to truly "tell the truth" in his performances [10:10]. He believes it takes "20, 25 years to become an actor," emphasizing that true skill comes from embodying honesty in a role, a quality he admires in actors like Mary Steenburgen [11:10].

What Experts Say About Character acting

1.Arsenio Hall's portrayal of the preacher in "Coming to America" was directly inspired by his childhood experience of watching his charismatic preacher father from the back of the pulpit.
2.Conan O'Brien identifies with Arsenio Hall's lifelong motivation to please his parents, recognizing it as a driving force behind his own comedic career.
3.Paramount Pictures initially rejected the concept for "Coming to America," deeming it a generic "fish out of water" story without the iconic multi-character elements.
4.The film was significantly enhanced by Paramount executive Ned Tannon's suggestion for Eddie Murphy to play multiple characters, which led to the creation of the barber and old Jewish man roles.
5.Eddie Murphy specifically recruited Arsenio Hall to play the preacher character in "Coming to America," having been impressed by Hall's stand-up impression of Jesse Jackson.
6.Arsenio Hall made "Coming to America" during a period of professional 'downtime' while awaiting confirmation on whether he would receive his own talk show.