This thesis considers first, the existence of a relatively new kind of characterization in the plays of Harold Pinter, and second, the need for the actor who performs Pinter to seek a new mode of acting. The purpose of the study is to identify the special problems or tasks which are thus imposed on the actor who plays a Pinter character. An examination of Pinter's dramaturgy reveals an emphasis on character relationships and a combination of the three different styles of characterization defined by Lorenz Kjerbuhl-Petersen: the type, the individual, and the shadow. This study concludes that the Pinter actor must simultaneously perceive a complex psyche in what seems a common human type, create an individualized concept of personality although information and behavior are misleading, and allow the actor's personality to color and expand that of the character.