Kind and shy, like some actors are (8)
I believe the answer is:
typecast
'like some actors are' is the definition.
'kind and shy' is the wordplay.
'kind' becomes 'type' (type is a kind of kind).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'shy' becomes 'cast' (I've seen this before).
'type'+'cast'='TYPECAST'
(Other definitions for typecast that I've seen before include "make actor repeat himself ..." , "fitting a standard image" , "playing similar roles" , "Put into same kind of role continually" , "with no variation in roles" .)