Animated figure's bearing American god (8)
I believe the answer is:
morpheus
'god' is the definition.
(I know that Morpheus is a god)
'animated figure's bearing american' is the wordplay.
'animated figure' becomes 'Morph' (clay-motion figure in various UK TV shows).
'bearing' becomes 'e'.
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'morph'+'e'+'us'='MORPHEUS'
(Other definitions for morpheus that I've seen before include "who controls dreams?" , "In the arms of . . . . . . . . - asleep" , "Greek god of sleep and dreams" , "Roman god of dreams - sleep in his arms" .)