Actors

What Actors do

You become someone else for a living, turning written lines into a person an audience believes, on stage, on camera, or with your voice alone.

Acting is the work of interpreting a character. You read a script, figure out who this person is and what they want, then show it through your voice, face, and body. That might be a play, a film or TV scene, a radio or narration job, or voice work where nobody ever sees your face. Comedy and drama both count.

Much of the job happens before anyone watches. You study scripts alone, memorize lines and cues, the signals that tell you when to speak or move, and you go to auditions where you are judged in a few minutes. Then the work turns social: rehearsals with directors and other actors, and time with the lighting, costume, makeup, and props crew. Work often comes project by project, so finding the next job is part of the job.

A day in the life

You check email for audition notices and schedule changes. Maybe you head to a casting call, a session where a production sees actors for a part, perform a short piece for strangers, and leave without knowing the answer. At rehearsal you run scenes with the rest of the cast, listen to the director's feedback on what to change, and try a line five different ways until one feels true. You stand still while someone fits a costume or fixes your makeup, and you learn where to move so the lights catch you. Between rehearsals and filming sessions you sit alone with the script, drilling lines and the signals for when to speak or move. Most of this happens indoors in climate-controlled spaces. Opening night or a shoot date does not move, so the pressure builds as it gets close.

How people get in

1. 1Start performing wherever you can: school plays, community theater, student films, improv (comedy or scenes made up on the spot), comedy nights, or recorded voice work.
2. 2Take classes in acting, voice, and movement. Many people study some college without finishing a degree, and programs in drama and theatre arts, acting, or musical theatre are common paths.
3. 3Build the basics you use daily: close reading of scripts, clear speaking, listening, and reading other people in the room.
4. 4Put together audition material: short solo speeches from plays or films (monologues), a professional photo of your face (a headshot), a list of roles you have played, and a recording if you want voice or on-camera work.
5. 5Audition steadily and keep a calendar, since sessions where productions see actors for a part come and go quickly and email is how most of it arrives.
6. 6Expect long-term on-the-job training: you keep learning from directors, coaches, and experienced actors across many productions.

Who tends to enjoy it

Official task list

Actors play parts in stage, television, radio, video, or film productions, or other settings for entertainment, information, or instruction. Interpret serious or comic role by speech, gesture, and body movement to entertain or inform audience. May dance and sing. (O*NET)

• Attend auditions and casting calls to audition for roles.
• Work closely with directors, other actors, and playwrights to find the interpretation most suited to the role.
• Portray and interpret roles, using speech, gestures, and body movements, to entertain, inform, or instruct radio, film, television, or live audiences.
• Study and rehearse roles from scripts to interpret, learn and memorize lines, stunts, and cues as directed.
• Collaborate with other actors as part of an ensemble.
• Learn about characters in scripts and their relationships to each other to develop role interpretations.
• Perform humorous and serious interpretations of emotions, actions, and situations, using body movements, facial expressions, and gestures.
• Read from scripts or books to narrate action or to inform or entertain audiences, utilizing few or no stage props.

A typical day involves

How much Actors make

The median pay for Actors in the U.S. is $29.05 an hour. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)

Where to study for this

College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.

• Drama and Dramatics / Theatre Arts 990 colleges
• Acting 141 colleges
• Musical Theatre 161 colleges
• Dramatic / Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Other 66 colleges
• Directing and Theatrical Production 66 colleges
• Theatre and Dance 13 colleges
• Comedy Writing and Performance 2 colleges

Related careers