leading man

plural leading men

1. A man who does or can play the lead role in a movie, play or other production; a person who frequently plays such roles.

   He was never intended as the leading man. He and Monica were never story-arced to get married.

   2023 October 29, Zoe Williams, “‘An ironic, self-deprecating metrosexual’: how Matthew Perry captured the spirit of the age”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

2. The type of conventionally handsome and approachable man who is perceived as being capable of playing male lead roles in movies or other productions.