What actions count specifically towards character xp?

My Marcus has been just a little bit of xp away from level 25 for 3 matches now and the xp bar just won't move. I'm not dying instantly or leaving once I die. I've been looting, talking to residents, finding escaping items, everything you'd typically do in a match. And he's still the same amount of xp away from 25. Is it only the Passive and Progressive challenges that count towards levelling your characters?