Although there are personality-driven aspects to roles—I’m the funny one, you’re the responsible one—roles have an effect on behavior that is independent of character. A role is like an ice cube tray into which you pour your personality. What you pour in matters, but so does the shape of the tray. Whether I’m musical or tone-deaf, humble or a braggart, if I am the cop and you are the speeder, things are likely to play out between us in reasonably predictable ways.
