This study aims at investigating the effect of using role-playing on building students’ English speaking motivation and positive characters. This case study focused on finding the students’ perception towards the use of role-playing method during their speaking class in the English Education Department at one of the universities in Indonesia. The data were collected through questionnaire and face to face semi-structured interviews with the first, third, and fifth semester students. The results of this study indicated that students had positive attitudes towards the use of role-playing during their speaking class. They claimed that the use of role-playing method during the class could lead them to have better communication, interpersonal skills, and management development since they would have to interact most of the time with one another starting from preparing for the script, practicing, until performing the plays. Role-playing was believed to build the students’ speaking motivation and four main positive characteristics, namely cooperation, creativity, responsibility, and discipline.