พระเอก and นางเอก

[edwardandtubs]

When talking about movies, is the Thai word for 'actor' and 'character' the same? In English we would say 'the main character in Mission Impossible 4 is Ethan Hunt' but we would say 'the lead actor is Tom Cruise'. In Thai do you use the word 'พระเอก' in both those sentences?

[klons]

I don't know the answer but you could combine the sentences and say Tom Cruise รับบทเป็น Ethan Hunt and it would

be known who is the actor and who is the character.

[Peppy]

รับบทเป็น means to take the role of, or play the character of.

ตัวละคร is "character".

พระเอก is the leading man or male protagonist, while นางเอก is the leading lady or female protagonist. ตัวเอก is a gender neutral alternative used mainly in literary or academic contexts. นักแสดงนำ is also used for "leading actor/actress".

[edwardandtubs]

พระเอก is the leading man or male protagonist, while นางเอก is the leading lady or female protagonist.

In all dictionaries I've looked at the first definition is actor and actress. Are they commonly used in everyday conversation to describe the character? There's a big difference between saying "I really admire the main actor in Silence of the Lambs" and "I really admire the main character in Silence of the Lambs" but I've noticed Thai people often say "actor" when they mean "character" when they speak English. Can พระเอก mean either or have the dictionaries messed up?

[klons]

I think the answer is either.

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol โดยเผยโฉมนักแสดงนำTom Cruise ในมาดสายลับ Ethan Hunt พระเอกของเรื่อง

http://www.nangdee.com/webboard/viewtopic.php?p=117321

[Peppy]

Yes, พระเอก can mean an actor who often takes leading roles, but when people talk about the พระเอก of a particular movie or drama, they're usually talking about the character, not the actor. It does seem ambiguous, but context usually makes it clear. And if it isn't clear, you can always use นักแสดงนำ and ตัวเอก/ตัวละครเอก to talk about the lead actor and main character, respectively.

Edit: Cross-posted with Klons. His link is a good example of how it works, using นักแสดงนำ to talk about Tom Cruise, but พระเอกของเรื่อง for Ethan Hunt. Of course you could also say Tom Cruise is a พระเอกชื่อดัง, a well-known actor who plays leading roles.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Peppy

[klons]

พระเอก is the leading man or male protagonist, while นางเอก is the leading lady or female protagonist.

In all dictionaries I've looked at the first definition is actor and actress. Are they commonly used in everyday conversation to describe the character? There's a big difference between saying "I really admire the main actor in Silence of the Lambs" and "I really admire the main character in Silence of the Lambs" but I've noticed Thai people often say "actor" when they mean "character" when they speak English. Can พระเอก mean either or have the dictionaries messed up?

Perhaps there would be an explanation, if when "Thai people often say "actor" when they mean "character" " If they only apply that to "hero" characters and not "villain" characters, then maybe where they learned English they think Actor can also mean Hero because I think พระเอก maybe can mean either Hero or Actor. Just a thought.

What I mean is in Ethan Hunt พระเอกของเรื่อง is probably the Hero of the story. But when พระเอก is in front of

Tom Cruise which I also have seen, then it's the lead actor.

Edited July 26, 2012 by klons