How to become an actor, entertainer or presenter
Official title: Actors, entertainers and presenters
Also called: Presenter, Voice actor, Entertainer, Actor-manager, Radio presenter, Television presenter, Children's entertainer, Lay clerk, Show girl, Stunt man, Ice skater, Film artist
Actors, entertainers, presenters, and perfomance artists sing, portray roles in dramatic productions, perform comedy routines, gymnastic feats and tricks of illusion, train animals to perform and perform with them, and introduce and present radio and television programmes.
Main tasks
- Studies script; play or book and prepares and rehearses interpretation
- Assumes character created by a playwright or author and communicates this to an audience
- Performs singing, comedy, acrobatic, illusion and conjuring routines
- Trains animals to perform entertaining routines and may perform with them
- Introduces and presents radio and television programmes, reads news bulletins and makes announcements
- Conducts interviews and prepares reports for news broadcasts, current affairs programmes and documentaries
- Plays pre-recorded music at nightclubs, discotheques, and private functions
How to become one
Entry does not depend on academic qualifications although some drama schools require candidates to have GCSEs/S grades or A levels/H grades or a degree. Entry can be based upon an audition. Membership of the appropriate trade union is usually required. Vocational qualifications in performing arts are available.
Ways in
- University: Creative Arts & Design degrees, Offered by 26 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- About 43,600 people work in this job now, and about 48,400 are projected by 2035. (+11.1%)
Related jobs
- Musicians
- Arts officers, producers and directors
- Artists
- Authors, writers and translators
- Dancers and choreographers
- Photographers, audio-visual and broadcasting equipment operators
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Questions people ask
How do I become an actor, entertainer or presenter?
Entry does not depend on academic qualifications although some drama schools require candidates to have GCSEs/S grades or A levels/H grades or a degree. Entry can be based upon an audition. Membership of the appropriate trade union is usually required. Vocational qualifications in performing arts are available.
Is an actor, entertainer or presenter a growing career in the UK?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 11% by 2035, from about 43,600 to about 48,400 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become an actor, entertainer or presenter?
Not always. 57% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Creative Arts & Design degrees.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.