character actor vs player

character actor and player both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
character actor	Yes	No	No	No
player	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, player is a hypernym of character actor; that is, player is a word with a broader meaning than character actor:

Other hypernyms of character actor include actor, histrion, role player, thespian.

character actor (noun)	player (noun)
an actor who specializes in playing supporting roles	a theatrical performer
	a person who participates in or is skilled at some game
	someone who plays a music as a profession
	a person who pursues a number of different social and sexual partners simultaneously
	someone who takes part in an activity