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'''Out of character''' (sometimes abbreviated to OOC) is a phrase used in entertainment to differentiate between a person playing a [[character]] and the character; when out of character, itself. When the person is being him-or-herself, he or she is said to be "out of character". The opposite, when the person is acting as the character, is "in character". Occasionally, a [[film]], [[TV show]], or [[book]] will break the [[fourth wall]] by having one of the characters step out of character and comment on the story or the other characters. As examples, the film ''[[Annie Hall]]'' and television show ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'' frequently uses this device.

It may also refer to when a fictional character's behaviour is different from, and inconsistaent with, how the's character's personality has been established in the past, without any apparent reason, especially when no (sufficient) explanation is . The term does not usually apply to a character acting a certain way which is later explained in [[secret history]], or to characters so minor little of their source personality is ever well  -known. This process also applies to [[fan  fiction]] where a character is acting differently from how he appeared in the story's source material.

OOC is also used in [[role-playing]], but. In this case, OOC referrings to things said by the author of the message, rather than by the character(s) that author is playing.

{{vocab-stub}}

[[Category:Fan fiction]]
[[category:Television terminology]]
[[category:Narratology]]