ensemble cast
{{Short description|Cast with many actors given similar standing}}
File:Friends actors montage.jpg' main cast, from left, clockwise: Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer, share similar screen times.]]
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ik9sleNg10kC&pg=PA112|title=Character design for graphic novels|author=Steven Withrow|author2=Alexander Danner|year=2007|publisher=Focal Press/Rotovision|page=112|access-date=2009-09-05|isbn=9780240809021|archive-date=2023-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421104220/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ik9sleNg10kC&pg=PA112|url-status=live}}
Structure
In contrast to the popular model, which gives precedence to a sole protagonist, an ensemble cast leans more towards a sense of "collectivity and community".{{Cite journal|url=https://academic.oup.com/screen/article/52/1/89/1668892|title=Referential acting and the ensemble cast|first=Ernest|last=Mathijs|date=March 1, 2011|journal=Screen|volume=52|issue=1|pages=89–96|via=academic.oup.com|doi=10.1093/screen/hjq063|access-date=June 15, 2020|archive-date=March 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308070844/https://academic.oup.com/screen/article/52/1/89/1668892|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}
=Cinema=
{{Further|List of films with an ensemble cast}}
Ensemble casts in film were introduced as early as September 1916, with D. W. Griffith's silent epic film Intolerance, featuring four separate though parallel plots.{{Cite web|url=http://www.screeningthepast.com/2012/12/ensemble-film-postmodernity-and-moral-mapping/|title=Ensemble Film, Postmodernity and Moral Mapping|website=www.screeningthepast.com|access-date=2020-06-15|archive-date=2018-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813111714/http://www.screeningthepast.com/2012/12/ensemble-film-postmodernity-and-moral-mapping/|url-status=live}} The film follows the lives of several characters over hundreds of years, across different cultures and time periods.{{Cite web|url=https://www.filmsite.org/into.html|title=Intolerance (1916)|website=Filmsite |access-date=2020-06-15|archive-date=2019-10-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029174158/https://www.filmsite.org/into.html|url-status=live}} The unification of different plot lines and character arcs is a key characteristic of ensemble casting in film; whether it is a location, event, or an overarching theme that ties the film and characters together.
Films that feature ensembles tend to emphasize the interconnectivity of the characters, even when the characters are strangers to one another.{{Cite journal|url=http://www.forumjournal.org/article/view/621|title=Not Just Ensemble Films: Six Degrees, Webs, Multiplexity and the Rise of Network Narratives|first=Vivien|last=Silvey|date=June 5, 2009|journal=FORUM: University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Journal of Culture & the Arts|issue=8|doi=10.2218/forum.08.621 |s2cid=129196139 |via=www.forumjournal.org|access-date=June 25, 2014|archive-date=April 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424225721/http://www.forumjournal.org/article/view/621|url-status=live|doi-access=free}} The interconnectivity is often shown to the audience through examples of the "six degrees of separation" theory, and allows them to navigate through plot lines using cognitive mapping. Examples of this method, where the six degrees of separation is evident in films with an ensemble cast, are in productions such as Love Actually, Crash, and Babel, which all have strong underlying themes interwoven within the plots that unify each film. Whodunit films also often feature interconnected characters as suspects, such as in Death on the Nile, Clue, and Knives Out.{{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Nick |date=2019-11-27 |title=13 Great Ensemble Whodunits to Watch After Knives Out |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-ensemble-murder-mystery-movies.html |access-date=2025-01-19 |website=Vulture |language=en}}
The Avengers, X-Men, and Justice League are three examples of ensemble casts in the superhero genre.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/apr/23/avengers-assemble-disarms-critics-joss-whedon|title=Avengers Assemble disarms the critics|first=Ben|last=Child|newspaper=The Guardian |date=April 23, 2012|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=December 19, 2016|archive-date=November 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111003021/https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/apr/23/avengers-assemble-disarms-critics-joss-whedon|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://www.hypable.com/2011/11/19/joss-whedon-talks-in-depth-about-the-ensemble-cast-of-the-avengers |title=Joss Whedon talks in depth about the ensemble cast of 'The Avengers' |date=November 19, 2011 |website=www.hypable.com |access-date=2020-06-15 |archive-date=2017-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170528162613/http://www.hypable.com/joss-whedon-talks-in-depth-about-the-ensemble-cast-of-the-avengers/ |url-status=live }} Referential acting is a key factor in executing this balance, as ensemble cast members "play off each other rather than off reality".
Filmmakers known for their use of ensemble casts include Robert Altman, Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and Paul Thomas Anderson among others.
=Television =
Ensemble casting also became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on different characters in different episodes. In addition, the departure of players is less disruptive than would be the case with a regularly structured cast. The television series The Muppets, The Golden Girls, The Proud Family and Friends are archetypal examples of ensemble casts in American sitcoms. The science-fiction mystery drama Lost features an ensemble cast. Ensemble casts of 20 or more actors are common in soap operas, a genre that relies heavily on the character development of the ensemble.{{Cite journal|url=https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/42/50|title=View of Soap operas and the history of fan discussion | Transformative Works and Cultures|journal=Transformative Works and Cultures|date=15 September 2008|volume=1|doi=10.3983/twc.2008.042|last1=Ford|first1=Sam|doi-access=free|access-date=15 June 2020|archive-date=9 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209032422/https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/42/50|url-status=live}} The genre also requires continuous expansion of the cast as the series progresses, with soap operas such as General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful staying on air for decades.{{Cite web|url=http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2010/12/the_survival_of_soap_opera_par_1.html|title=The Survival of Soap Opera (Part Two):The History and Legacy of Serialized Television|website=Henry Jenkins|date=7 December 2010 |access-date=2020-06-15|archive-date=2021-08-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830193955/http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2010/12/the_survival_of_soap_opera_par_1.html|url-status=live}}
An example of a success for television in ensemble casting is the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones. The fantasy series features one of the largest ensemble casts on the small screen.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/game-of-thrones/10888519/David-Cameron-Im-a-Game-of-Thrones-fan.html|title=David Cameron: 'I'm a Game of Thrones fan'|first=Scott|last=Campbell|date=June 10, 2014|via=www.telegraph.co.uk|access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-date=May 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507083112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/game-of-thrones/10888519/David-Cameron-Im-a-Game-of-Thrones-fan.html|url-status=live}} The series is notorious for major character deaths, resulting in constant changes within the ensemble.{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-game-of-thrones-nobody-wins-everybody-dies/10099808|title=The Game of Thrones: Nobody wins, everybody dies|first=Adam|last=Brereton|date=June 12, 2013|website=ABC Religion & Ethics|access-date=June 15, 2020|archive-date=January 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111231932/https://www.abc.net.au/religion/the-game-of-thrones-nobody-wins-everybody-dies/10099808|url-status=live}}
Ensemble casts are common in children's television, with both human and non-human casts. Examples include: Sesame Street, Thomas & Friends, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants, Total Drama, Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Freakazoid!, Cow and Chicken, Hey Arnold!, and The Replacements.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Film crew}}
{{Portal bar|Film}}
{{Authority control}}