How to become an Actor

Official title: Actors

Also called: Actress, Comedian, Community Theater Actor, Entertainer, Film Actor, Motion Capture Actor, Role Player, Tour Actor, Voice Actor, Voice-Over Artist

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.

Main tasks

• 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.

How to become one

A formal education isn't always required, but actors typically enhance their skills by taking classes in the performing arts. They also develop their skills through years of practice.

Typical education to start: Some college, no degree

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Actor.
• College: Creative Arts & Design degrees, Offered by 32 universities in the US

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• About 67,500 people work in this job now, and about 67,500 are projected by 2035. (+0%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Producers and Directors
• Media Programming Directors
• Talent Directors
• Media Technical Directors/Managers

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Actor?

A formal education isn't always required, but actors typically enhance their skills by taking classes in the performing arts. They also develop their skills through years of practice.

Is an Actor a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 67,500 people now and 67,500 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become an Actor?

Usually. 61% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of an Actor?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.