A
bit part is a
supporting acting roleA supporting actor performs roles in a play or movie other than that of protagonist. A female who performs these roles is usually referred to as a supporting actress....
with at least one line of dialogue. In
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
television, bit parts are referred to as
under sixes (fewer than six spoken lines). Unlike extras, who do not speak any lines at all, actors in bit parts are typically listed in the credits. An exception to this practice is the
cameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television. Short appearances by film directors, politicians, athletes, musicians, and other celebrities are common. These roles are generally small, and...
, wherein a well-known actor (or other celebrity) appears in a bit part; it is not uncommon for such appearances to be uncredited.
A
bit part is a
supporting acting roleA supporting actor performs roles in a play or movie other than that of protagonist. A female who performs these roles is usually referred to as a supporting actress....
with at least one line of dialogue. In
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
television, bit parts are referred to as
under sixes (fewer than six spoken lines). Unlike extras, who do not speak any lines at all, actors in bit parts are typically listed in the credits. An exception to this practice is the
cameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television. Short appearances by film directors, politicians, athletes, musicians, and other celebrities are common. These roles are generally small, and...
, wherein a well-known actor (or other celebrity) appears in a bit part; it is not uncommon for such appearances to be uncredited. Another exception occurred in MGM's 1951 screen version of the famed musical
Show BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. One notable exception is the song Bill, which was originally written by Kern and author-lyricist P. G. Wodehouse in 1917 but reworked by Hammerstein for Show Boat...
, in which the role of the cook Queenie (Frances Williams) has been reduced from a significant supporting role in the stage version to literally a bit part in the film. Ms. Williams, whose appearance was not intended as a cameo, was not listed at all in the credits. On the other hand,
William WarfieldWilliam Caesar Warfield , concert bass-baritone singer, was born in West Helena, Arkansas and grew up in Rochester, New York, where his father was called to serve as pastor of Mt. Vernon Church. He gave his recital debut in New York's Town Hall on March 19, 1950...
, whose role as Joe, Queenie's husband, was also drastically shortened in the film from the stage original, did receive screen credit because he sang
Ol' Man River"Ol' Man River" is a song in the 1927 musical Show Boat, that contrasts African American hardship and struggles of the time with the endless, uncaring flow of the Mississippi River, from the view of a dock worker on a showboat.It is the most famous song from the show...
.
Bit parts are often significant in the story line, sometimes pivotal, as in
Jack AlbertsonJack Albertson was an American character actor dating to vaudeville. A comedian, dancer, singer, and musician, Albertson is perhaps best known for his roles as Manny Rosen in The Poseidon Adventure and Grandpa Joe in the 1971 version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and as Ed Brown in the...
's role as a postal worker in the 1947
feature filmIn the film industry, a feature film is a film made for initial distribution in theaters and being the "main attraction" of the screening...
Miracle on 34th StreetMiracle on 34th Street is a 1947 film written by Valentine Davies, directed by George Seaton, and starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. It is the story of what takes place in New York City following Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, as people are left wondering whether...
. Some characters with bit parts become well remembered. A good example is
Boba FettBoba Fett is a character in the Star Wars fictional universe. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to track down the Millennium Falcon, he is the "next major villain" after Vader in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back...
, with very few lines in
The Empire Strikes Back and none (except a scream) in
Return of the Jedi. Constantin Stanislavski famously remarked that "there are no small parts, only small actors."