A dual role (also known as a double role) is an instance of one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during production, often due to a low budget. In film and television, dual roles are often used for comic effect, or to depict Twin or other relatives. In a theatrical production where more than one actor plays multiple characters, it is sometimes referred to as an "Ironman" cast.
Theatre
In
theatre, the use of multiple roles may be budget-related, may be intended to give an accomplished actor more stage time or a greater challenge, or may be of thematic significance to the story. The combination of factors leading to such a decision may often remain unknown. For example, debate exists over the significance of William Shakespeare's use of dual roles, with a notable example being whether the characters of Cordelia and the Fool in
King Lear were intended to be one and the same, or whether the mysterious
Third Murderer in
Macbeth is actually Macbeth himself.
In the musical
Hamilton, four actors/actresses are cast in dual roles, each a major supporting character, with a change of roles between the first and second acts. The actors who play
John Laurens/
Philip Hamilton, Marquis de Lafayette/
Thomas Jefferson, and Hercules Mulligan/
James Madison wear identical white costumes in the opening song, "Alexander Hamilton", and were given lines with intentional double meanings that would fit either of their dual roles.
In the original West End production of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two many roles are doubled including Uncle Vernon/Severus Snape/Lord Voldemort, Aunt Petunia/Madame Hooch/Dolores Umbridge, Amos Diggory/Albus Dumbledore, Trolley Witch/Minerva McGonagall, Cedric Diggory/James Potter Jr./James Potter Sr., Dudley Dursley/Karl Jenkins/Viktor Krum, and Rose Granger-Weasley/Young Hermione Granger.
Film
In a reverse situation, one character may be portrayed by multiple actors on rare occasions.
Heath Ledger was cast as the lead in
Terry Gilliam's
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). However, he died before completing production, albeit with most of his main scenes completed. So Gilliam cast
Johnny Depp,
Colin Farrell, and
Jude Law as "transformations of the main character in magical realms" to finish production.
