History Main / BitCharacter

->"Iggy Pop was not inexperienced in acting before this. His [=IMDb=] page lists all of his numerous previous roles, such as "Prospective Guest", "Skinny Player on Road", and -- coming off of his most recent success -- "Man Eating Bird Leg!" (No hyphen, so I assume he is a man eating a bird leg, but I cannot rule out that he was a bird leg that STALKED AND KILLED HUMANS.)"

* Daigo Aoki and Shoji Sato from ''Manga/ShokugekiNoSoma'', despite being in the same dorm as the protagonist, their only role in the story is to fool around in comedy scenes and just "be there" cheering for some major character to win a shokugeki or something, and in the last arc they are almost erased from the story aside from some panels here and there.

** Sherri and Terri have been around since the beginnings of the show, but they have never gotten a single ADayInTheLimelight episode, nor any characterization aside from "SingleMindedTwins" and "kind of stuck-up."

** Sgt Benton has an interesting relationship to this trope - his actor John Levene started out playing a UNIT member {{extra}} in "The Invasion" ([[TheOtherMarty still visible crammed right at the back at certain early scenes]]), and got bumped up to being a bit character when the director sacked the actor originally cast as Benton. A drastic {{retool}} to focus the show around UNIT meant they decided to make Benton a companion, which he was for seven years. Apparently the stress of accidentally landing a large part despite having no acting training beyond some bit-part experience resulted in Levene experiencing severe stress and Impostor Syndrome.

** Mari, Tsuwabuki's childhood friend exists just to argue with him and doesn't have much depth.

[[folder:Anime]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Sherri and Terri have been around since the beginnings of the show, but they have never gotten a single ADayInTheLimelight episode, nor any characterization aside from "SingleMindedTwins" and "kind of stuck-up."

A Bit Character is a minor character in the cast. She or he has a slightly larger part than the extra or the SpearCarrier, but isn't a well-known actor taking a small part, like a {{Cameo}}. The British television industry often refers to these as "under sixes" (six being the number of spoken lines required to no longer be a bit part). Similarly in the US they are "under fives".

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' has Andrea[[note]][[ItsPronouncedTroPay Ahn-DRAY-uh]][[/note]], a HollywoodPudgy, bitter {{Goth}}. She had a few lines in early episodes and then mostly became a background character, only to unexpectedly gain some moments of prominence in the last two seasons. The creators seem fond of her--she got [[CreativeClosingCredits Alter Egos]] and even some CharacterDevelopment over her few speaking appearances--and she has become an EnsembleDarkhorse among fans as well.

* Ralph Hapschatt says four lines in a conversation with Brad t the start of ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''. Though he's notable for becoming an AscendedExtra and being the only actor to return as the same character in the sequel, ''Film/ShockTreatment''.

* Ralph Hapschatt says four lines in a conversation with Brad t the start of ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'''. Though he's notable for becoming an AscendedExtra and being the only actor to return as the same character in the sequel, ''Film/ShockTreatment''.

* Ralph Hapschatt says four lines in a conversation with Brad t the start of ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''''. Though he's notable for becoming an AscendedExtra and being the only actor to return as the same character in the sequel, ''Film/ShockTreatment''.

->"Iggy Pop was not inexperienced in acting before this. His [=IMDb=] page lists all of his numerous previous roles, such as "Prospective Guest", "Skinny Player on Road", and -- coming off of his most recent success -- "Man Eating Bird Leg!" (No hyphen, so [[AmbiguousSyntax I assume he is a man eating a bird leg, but I cannot rule out that he was a bird leg that STALKED AND KILLED HUMANS]].)"

->"[[Music/TheStooges Iggy Pop]] was not inexperienced in acting before this. His Website/IMDb page lists all of his numerous previous roles, such as "[[Film/SidAndNancy Prospective Guest]]", "[[Film/TheColorOfMoney Skinny Player on Road]]", and--coming off of his most recent success--"[[Film/TheBrave Man Eating Bird Leg]]!" (No hyphen, so [[AmbiguousSyntax I assume he is a man eating a bird leg, but I cannot rule out that he was a bird leg that STALKED AND KILLED HUMANS]].)"

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Sherri and Terri have been around since the beginnings of the show, but they have never gotten a single ADayInTheLimelight episode nor any characterization.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'', the rude chef, chapters 3, 4, and 5 feature some minor characters. They were [[NoNameGiven not even given names]], but they do fit into the plot in a not-so-minor way.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'', the rude chef, chapters 3, 4, and 5 feature some minor characters. They were [[not even NoNameGiven given names]], but they do fit into the plot in a not-so-minor way.

SuperTrope of BitPartBadguys, VeryPunchableMan. When the apparent BitCharacter returns with importance, it's ChekhovsGunman. If he suddenly becomes hugely popular in the fandom, then it's an EnsembleDarkHorse.

->"[[Music/TheStooges Iggy Pop]] was not inexperienced in acting before this. His Website/IMDb page lists all of his numerous previous roles, such as "Prospective Guest", "Skinny Player on Road", and--coming off of his most recent success--"Man Eating Bird Leg!" (No hyphen, so I assume he is a man eating a bird leg, but I cannot rule out that he was a bird leg that STALKED AND KILLED HUMANS.)"

<<|CharactersAndCasting|>>

Some actors make a decent living playing bit characters throughout their careers, never moving up the hierarchy to "star". Such actors are called "bit players", and can lead to a case of HeyItsThatGuy as you wonder why he appears in the background of every movie made in that country. Before she played the lead in the 1957 TV series ''The Adventures of Tugboat Annie'', Minerva Urecal was a bit player in the movies.

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