[General] What is the meaning of "first billed"?

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Olympian

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Hello,

I was looking at a movie information on the IMDB website and there, under "Cast" it said: "Cast overview, first billed only:". What does "first billed" mean?

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MrPedantic

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I would take it to mean only the actors that appear on adverts for the film, or in a larger font in the titles - i.e. not the minor characters.

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MrP
 

Olympian

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Thank you MrP. :)
 

5jj

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I would take it to mean only the actors that appear on adverts for the film, or in a larger font in the titles - i.e. not the minor characters.
You may be right, Mr P; I took it to mean only the first name to appear.
 

MrPedantic

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It would probably have helped if I'd checked at IMDb first; but they seem to use the phrase to designate the main actors, with the remainder listed in a "full cast and crew" expandable link.
 
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5jj

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Ouisch

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Film credits can be a confusing minefield of celebrity ego....actors' agents will lobby to have their star listed in a certain place on movie posters or in ads, or prior to the title in the actual film. Anyway, "first billed" usually refers to actors listed in the opening credits of a movie. As a rule, actors with minimal roles in films (say, Joe Smith who played "Man at Party") will be listed in the closing credits. But occasionally a major star (or major star of years past who hasn't had a starring role in eons but whose name has sentimental value) will play a small role in a film and, because of their celebrity stature will land a spot in the opening credits: "Special guest appearance by Milton Berle as Man at Party".
 

Olympian

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Film credits can be a confusing minefield of celebrity ego....actors' agents will lobby to have their star listed in a certain place on movie posters or in ads, or prior to the title in the actual film. Anyway, "first billed" usually refers to actors listed in the opening credits of a movie. As a rule, actors with minimal roles in films (say, Joe Smith who played "Man at Party") will be listed in the closing credits. But occasionally a major star (or major star of years past who hasn't had a starring role in eons but whose name has sentimental value) will play a small role in a film and, because of their celebrity stature will land a spot in the opening credits: "Special guest appearance by Milton Berle as Man at Party".

Thank you Ouisch for this behind-the-scenes information. I did not know that agents also played a role in getting their star listed. :)
 
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