actor

actor · Not mentioned by Google

Appears in

• Movie

What is it?

The cast members who perform in a movie, TV show, video game, or other media production. actor links a creative work to the people (or performing groups) who appear in it. The property accepts both individual performers and ensemble casts as an array.

Why this matters for AEO

When a user asks "what movies has Leonardo DiCaprio been in?" or "who stars in The Dark Knight?", AI engines traverse actor properties across movie pages to build filmographies and cast lists. Structured actor data enables precise answers to casting queries without relying on text extraction from plot summaries or credits sections.

What the specs say

Schema.org: Person or PerformingGroup. An actor (individual or a group), e.g. in TV, radio, movie, video games etc. Actors can be associated with individual items or with a series, episode, clip. schema.org/actor

Google: Not mentioned. Field not listed in Google's structured data documentation for Movie. Google Movie docs

How to find your value

• IMDb — Full cast listing on the movie page
• TMDb API — cast array in the credits endpoint
• Wikipedia — Cast section in the article
• Studio press kit — Official cast list from the production company

Format and code

Use an array of Person objects for multiple actors. Include at least the name property for each.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "The Dark Knight",
  "director": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Christopher Nolan"
  },
  "actor": [
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Christian Bale"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Heath Ledger"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Aaron Eckhart"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Caine"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Maggie Gyllenhaal"}
  ]
}

Single actor:

{
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "Cast Away",
  "actor": {
    "@type": "Person",
    "name": "Tom Hanks"
  }
}

Webflow implementation

Static pages

Add the cast in the JSON-LD block in Page Settings > Custom Code. List the principal cast members as an array of Person objects.

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "Movie Title",
  "actor": [
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Lead Actor"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Supporting Actor"}
  ]
}
</script>

CMS template pages

Store actor names in a plain text CMS field (comma separated) or use a multi-reference field linking to a "People" collection. In the JSON-LD embed, format the values as an array of Person objects.

In Schema HQ

Field mapping pulls cast member fields to the actor array, building Person objects from CMS field values automatically.

Real examples

Rotten Tomatoes (rottentomatoes.com/m/the_dark_knight):

{
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "The Dark Knight",
  "actor": [
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Christian Bale"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Heath Ledger"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Aaron Eckhart"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Caine"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Maggie Gyllenhaal"}
  ]
}

Rotten Tomatoes (rottentomatoes.com/m/inception):

{
  "@type": "Movie",
  "name": "Inception",
  "actor": [
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Leonardo DiCaprio"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Joseph Gordon-Levitt"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Elliot Page"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Hardy"},
    {"@type": "Person", "name": "Ken Watanabe"}
  ]
}

Related fields

• director
• dateCreated
• contentRating
• name
• author

FAQ

How many actors should be listed?

List the principal cast. Five to ten lead and supporting actors is typical. There is no need to include every extra or bit player. Rotten Tomatoes typically lists the top 5 to 8 cast members.

Is actor the same as performer?

actor is specific to dramatic roles in media (movies, TV, games). performer is used for live events like concerts and shows. For a movie page, use actor. For a concert listing, use performer.

Does Google use actor data for rich results?

Google does not list actor in its Movie structured data documentation. However, Google's Knowledge Graph does parse actor data from schema markup, and sites like Rotten Tomatoes include it in their structured data. It contributes to entity understanding even without a dedicated rich result.