Play The Part

I was talking to a friend the other day and noticed that he had cut his hair shorter and shaved his beard. I asked him, "How come?" He said he was a member of a theatrical club and he had just been assigned a new character to play. I asked what kind of a part was he playing and he said he would be playing the part of a family man who had been married for 25 years. Without really thinking I said, "So, you couldn't get a speaking part?"