Characters with unknown cast members

Do you have an example of this? Doesn't seem like something that we'll come across often.

If you just mean the character name (i.e a villain from a comic) has been announced but the person playing them hasn't been, then we can just wait until it is announced.

I could sorta see it with stuff like last year's Vigilante on Arrow. Who was clearly played by someone, and it wasn't until this year that they got around to casting the actual actor rather than the faceless uncredited stuntman who did the character last year.

I'm not sure that it's important enough in that case that the character had to be added to the database but not "connected" to an actor. A character page, complete with image, could have been made around the character.

TBA or TBD or whatever for actor name instead of character name?

Is that the kind of thing being considered?

For another example, Mac's father on the new MacGyver has been getting a lot of mentions and backstory. We even got a shot of the back of his head yet, since no actor has (presumably) been cast. So you could create a character entry for "Mac's Father" and leave the actor name blank.

But the character wasn't credited onscreen, with any actor's name. So presumably they'd be... uncredited.

That kind of thing? There are shadowy figures in a lot of U.S. serialized superhero and procedural shows. Although whether there's enough that it's worth listing them, that's another question.

Any case where there is a character but the actor who portrays him is unknown. In the case I was thinking of, they never credit any of the guest stars and some of them are recurring and are an important part of the story. I just have no idea what their names are.

Gadfly makes a good point too.

dpratt wrote:
Any case where there is a character but the actor who portrays him is unknown. In the case I was thinking of, they never credit any of the guest stars and some of them are recurring and are an important part of the story. I just have no idea what their names are.

If they have a speaking role, they are credited; they have to be under SAG rules (and the British equivalent). It may be a case where you need to research through press releases to find out who the actor was.

If it is a non-speaking role, just as the back of Mac's Dad's head in Gadfly's example, I'm not sure anyone can be credited as we have neither a character nor actor name to use for the credit.

Thanks for bringing up that point. This is a web series. The actors are probably SAG from the look of it; they are professional and the series is shot in Los Angeles. Maybe SAG rules are different for web series. But I am indeed talking about speaking roles where actors faces are clearly shown and no name can be found anywhere including the web.

I know that there must be exceptions to that rule though because I've seen it many times. There was one show where the only reason I knew the actor was because he has been in many movies and shows. But his name wasn't in the credits or press releases anywhere. But that may be due to mishaps.

dpratt wrote:
Thanks for bringing up that point. This is a web series. The actors are probably SAG from the look of it; they are professional and the series is shot in Los Angeles. Maybe SAG rules are different for web series. But I am indeed talking about speaking roles where actors faces are clearly shown and no name can be found anywhere including the web.

I know that there must be exceptions to that rule though because I've seen it many times. There was one show where the only reason I knew the actor was because he has been in many movies and shows. But his name wasn't in the credits or press releases anywhere. But that may be due to mishaps.

Web series are 'New Media' under SAG and are covered by the Global Rule One (basically if you are in the union you will only work with a union contract) So, if these are actors you recognise from other things (TV, movies) they are SAG members and will have a union contract which means crediting. With that said, how you find these credits can be a challenge, I admit, but they have to be out there somewhere.

Is there a specific series you're thinking of that others could help you find information?

LadyShelley wrote:
If they have a speaking role, they are credited; they have to be under SAG rules (and the British equivalent). It may be a case where you need to research through press releases to find out who the actor was.

If it is a non-speaking role, just as the back of Mac's Dad's head in Gadfly's example, I'm not sure anyone can be credited as we have neither a character nor actor name to use for the credit.

The character name in this case would be "Mac's Father". Or "Mac's Dad". Or "Big Mac", since the younger version of Angus MacGyver is credited as "Little Mac". :) We don't have a first name (yet), but I'm not sure that would make a difference. If someone wants to grab an image and submit a character bio based on what has been said about him so far... is there a reason to prohibit it based on the fact the official/full name hasn't been given?

That, and based on the scripts to date, they are going to bring in Mac's father eventually. Either that, or they're building up to a whole bunch of nothing. :( If it was entered now, it'd be more of a place holder. But with an image and potential bio to "anchor" it.

Gadfly wrote:
The character name in this case would be "Mac's Father". Or "Mac's Dad". Or "Big Mac", since the younger version of Angus MacGyver is credited as "Little Mac". :) We don't have a first name (yet), but I'm not sure that would make a difference. If someone wants to grab an image and submit a character bio based on what has been said about him so far... is there a reason to prohibit it based on the fact the official/full name hasn't been given?

That, and based on the scripts to date, they are going to bring in Mac's father eventually. Either that, or they're building up to a whole bunch of nothing. :( If it was entered now, it'd be more of a place holder. But with an image and potential bio to "anchor" it.

Sorry, don't agree. Chances are the actor eventually hired to play MacGyver's father won't be the person used a placeholder. We have nothing to say except he left when MacGyver was a teenager, just wait until there's an actor and a name to go with the role. What's the rush?

This is different from the the young MacGyver character since an actor has been hired for the role.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that we use a real actor as a "placeholder". I know I'm not.

There's a bit more to say about Mac's father then that. :) He had a cabin, someone burned it down, he hid surveillance footage showing that he was involved with [Spoiler], he left Mac a watch with what is apparently a coded message hidden inside. There's more to say about him than, say, Guard #3 on Show X, which the system automatically creates a character entry, a gallery, and a bio section for. Why treat a character with more info different than one with less info, just because the actor hasn't been cast yet?

It's been over a year since Mac's Father was mentioned, I wouldn't call that a "rush". However, you'd have to ask the OP as to what the "rush" is in adding characters before they've been assigned an actor.

The whole point (I thought) was to discuss characters who haven't yet had determined actors cast. So saying it's different from a character who has had an actor cast is kinda redundant. But sure, the two casting options are different. I only raised "Little Mac" to note that a naming convention exists, not to say that they should be treated the same when they're clearly different casting-wise.

I understand the issue, but I don't think we should go out of our way to support this. Just like we don't allow shows without a name, I don't think we should allow actors without a name - because it would be next to impossible to keep them apart once there are dozens or hundreds of "TBA" actors.