Actors: Salary, career path, job outlook, education and more

Actors express ideas and portray characters in theater, film, television, and other performing arts media. They interpret a writers script to entertain or inform an audience.

What do Actors do?

Actors typically do the following:

• Read scripts and meet with agents and other professionals before accepting a role
• Audition in front of directors, producers, and casting directors
• Research their characters personal traits and circumstances to portray the characters more authentically to an audience
• Memorize their lines
• Rehearse their lines and performance, including on stage or in front of the camera, with other actors
• Discuss their role with the director, producer, and other actors to improve the overall performance of the show
• Perform the role, following the directors directions

Most actors struggle to find steady work, and few achieve recognition as stars. Some work as extrasactors who have no lines to deliver but are included in scenes to give a more realistic setting. Some actors do voiceover or narration work for animated features, audiobooks, or other electronic media.

In some stage or film productions, actors sing, dance, or play a musical instrument. For some roles, an actor must learn a new skill, such as horseback riding or stage fighting.

Most actors have long periods of unemployment between roles and often hold other jobs in order to make a living. Some actors teach acting classes as a second job.