It really depends on the situation and the position. There's situations where you can bend the rules and it will bump the numbers, and you'll get rewarded for it. But keep in mind, big companies always have a small group of people hired to investigate numbers. I've found that it's better to have your moral limits at the workplace (and have less numbers). You may get crap from the higher ups for never having the best numbers, but you'll always have a job there. Because at the end of the day, the customers will know your honest and management will know your honest (and consistent).
"character actor" just seems like a dirty word, especially describing half of these actors, as they are often as-good or better than whoever is top billed
That being said, no such thing as doing something and it has no downsides at all. I'm positive with enough digging youd find downsides to them doing this.