Lead
Lead noun - The person who has the most important role in a play, movie, or TV show.
Supporting actor is an antonym for lead.
Supporting actor
Lead is an antonym for supporting actor in supporting actor or actress topic.
Both terms in one sentence
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He's had many supporting actor credits to his name, to the point that he's not really a non-actor anymore, but this was one of his first roles and his only lead role to date.
Source: Non-Actor Vehicle - Macy was nominated as Best Supporting Actor for Fargo, probably because he plays the lead antagonist.
Source: Award Category Fraud - A very arguable case, but Waltz was briefly campaigned as a co-lead in the awards season (including at SAG) when Harvey Weinstein thought he could get Leonardo DiCaprio a Supporting Actor nomination.
Source: Award Category Fraud
Cite this Source
Supporting actor and Lead. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/lead/supporting_actor
Lead & Supporting actor. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/lead/supporting_actor>.
Supporting actor or Lead. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/lead/supporting_actor.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "lead" and "supporting actor" have occurred on timeline