Editing Soap opera (section)

====Performers====
:''See [[List of longest-serving soap opera actors]]''

Soap opera performers in the United States are typically divided into two main groups: primary characters (sometimes referred to as "contract players" &ndash; as their portrayers signed contracts of employment &ndash; or leading characters) and secondary characters (sometimes referred to as [[recurring status|recurring]] characters). These two groups of characters make up the vast majority of the people who appear on any given soap. There are also characters who appear only for a short time as dictated by a specific storyline, and even characters who may only get a first name and no fleshed-out character history with little dialogue (these are sometimes referred to as "under-5s" since they receive under five lines of dialogue in each episode).

Due to the longevity of these shows, it is not uncommon for a single character to be played by multiple actors. The key character of [[Mike Karr]] on ''The Edge of Night'' was played by three actors.

Conversely, several actors have remained playing the same character for many years, or decades even. [[Helen Wagner]] played Hughes family matriarch [[Nancy Hughes]] on American soap ''As the World Turns'' from its April 2, 1956, debut through her death in May 2010. She is listed in the [[Guinness World Records|Guinness Book of World Records]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060330/us_nm/leisure_world_dc |website=News.Yahoo.com (Internet Archive) |archive-date=April 28, 2006 |title=Actress shares 50th year with ''As the World Turns'' |first=Steve |last=Gorman |year=2006 |access-date=December 12, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428045747/https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060330/us_nm/leisure_world_dc}}</ref> as the actor with the longest uninterrupted performance in a single role. A number of performers played roles for 20 years or longer, occasionally on more than one show. [[Rachel Ames]] played [[Audrey Hardy]] on both ''General Hospital'' and ''Port Charles'' from 1964 until 2007 and returned in 2009. [[Susan Lucci]] played [[Erica Kane]] in ''[[All My Children]]'' from the show's debut in January 1970 until it ended its network television run on ABC on September 23, 2011. [[Erika Slezak]] played [[Victoria Lord]] #3 on ''[[One Life to Live]]'' from 1971 until the show ended its network television run on ABC on January 13, 2012, and resumed the role in its short-lived online revival on April 29, 2013.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-jeanne-cooper-dies-dead-young-restless-corbin-bernsen-20130508,0,4586061.story |title=Jeanne Cooper of ''Young and the Restless'' dies at 84 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |first=Christie |last=Dzurilla |date=May 8, 2013}}</ref>

Other actors have played several characters on different shows. [[Millette Alexander]], [[Bernard Barrow]], [[Doris Belack]], [[David Canary]], [[Judith Chapman]], [[Keith Charles (actor)|Keith Charles]], [[Jordan Charney]], [[Joan Copeland]], [[Nicolas Coster]], [[Jacqueline Courtney]], [[Augusta Dabney]], [[Louis Edmonds]], [[Don Hastings]], [[Larry Haines]], [[Vincent Irizarry]], [[Lenore Kasdorf]], [[Teri Keane]], [[Lois Kibbee]], [[John Loprieno]], [[Lori March]], [[Maeve McGuire]], [[Robert Milli]], [[James Mitchell (actor)|James Mitchell]], [[Lee Patterson]], [[Christopher Pennock]], [[Antony Ponzini]], [[William Prince (actor)|William Prince]], [[Rosemary Prinz]], [[Louise Shaffer]], [[Mary Stuart (actress)|Mary Stuart]], [[Richard Thomas (actor)|Richard Thomas]], [[Diana van der Vlis]], [[Mary K. Wells]], [[Lesley Woods]] and [[Michael Zaslow]], among many others, have all played multiple soap roles.