Close to leading, so animated! (9)
I believe the answer is:
alongside
'close to' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'leading so animated' is the wordplay.
'animated' is an anagram indicator.
'leading'+'so'='leadingso'
'leadingso' anagrammed gives 'ALONGSIDE'.
(Other definitions for alongside that I've seen before include "Lying next to, as a boat might be" , "Next to, another boat say" , "Next to, another boat perhaps" , "Lying close to" , "Age-old sin (anag.)" .)