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.
- Median pay
- Not reported
- Doing it now
- 67,500
- By 2035
- No change
- Usually needs
- Some college, no degree
across the country
6,300 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Study and rehearse roles from scripts to interpret, learn and memorize lines, stunts, and cues as directed.
- Work closely with directors, other actors, and playwrights to find the interpretation most suited to the role.
- Learn about characters in scripts and their relationships to each other to develop role interpretations.
- Collaborate with other actors as part of an ensemble.
- Perform humorous and serious interpretations of emotions, actions, and situations, using body movements, facial expressions, and gestures.
- Attend auditions and casting calls to audition for roles.
- Portray and interpret roles, using speech, gestures, and body movements, to entertain, inform, or instruct radio, film, television, or live audiences.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftSee 880 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Creative and expressive
Helping and teaching
Leading and persuading
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Pay is not reported for this occupation, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.