In this article
Welcome to the world of performing arts
Whether you're drawn to performance and storytelling, or you want an honest look at one of the most creative and competitive careers, this guide covers what an actor actually does, the skills, the day-to-day, and the real upsides and downsides.
General description
An actor portrays characters in plays, films, television, and other media. In simple terms: they bring stories and characters to life. Think of them as the tellers of human stories.
- Bring characters and stories to life
- Perform on stage, screen, or voice
- Interpret scripts and direction
- Move and connect with audiences
Key skills & qualifications
Hard skills
Soft skills
- Talent & craft — the foundation of performance
- Resilience — rejection is constant
- Emotional range — accessing real feeling
- Discipline — craft takes lifelong work
- Adaptability — every role and medium differs
- Self-belief — you are your own product
Education & qualifications
No degree required — acting is built on training, talent, and experience, through drama schools, workshops, and above all doing the work. A strong showreel and craft matter most.
Typical responsibilities
- Performance — bringing roles to life
- Preparation — script and character work
- Auditions — winning the roles
- Collaboration — with directors and casts
- Craft — voice, movement, technique
- Promotion — building a career
Responsibilities by seniority
Emerging Actor
0–5 years
- Trains and builds craft
- Auditions constantly
- Takes small roles
- Building a showreel
- Often other work too
Working Actor
5–15 years
- Regular roles
- Builds a reputation
- Stage, screen, or voice
- Represented by an agent
- Specialising
Established / Lead
15+ years
- Lead and major roles
- Recognised name
- Choice of work
- Mentors others
- Top of the craft
Where actors work
🎬 Film & TV
Screen acting.
🎭 Theatre
Stage performance.
🎙️ Voice / audio
Voiceover and radio.
📺 Commercials
Advertising work.
🎮 Games / mocap
Performance capture.
🎓 Teaching
Drama education.
A day in the life
Preparing for an audition — learning lines, building the character, and making choices that bring them alive.
The audition itself: minutes to show your craft and inhabit someone else entirely, then back to waiting.
Rehearsal for a current role — exploring the character with the director and cast, refining every moment.
Performance or filming — the work it's all for, telling a story and moving an audience.
A character brought to life, an audience moved, a story told. Deeply creative, deeply uncertain work. That's the craft.
What this job gives you
- Deeply creative work
- Telling human stories
- Variety of roles and worlds
- Emotional and artistic reward
- A true passion career
Pros & cons
✅ Advantages
- Deeply creative and expressive
- Telling human stories
- Variety of roles and media
- Profound artistic reward
- A genuine passion career
- Lifelong craft to master
- Moments of real magic
❌ Disadvantages
- Very insecure income
- Constant rejection
- Fierce competition
- Often needs other work
- Unpredictable schedule
- Few make it big
Salary potential — global rating
Rated against all professions globally, where ★★★★★★★★★★ = top 1% earners:
Career growth paths
- Working Actor — build a sustainable acting career
- Stage / screen specialist — theatre, film, or TV focus
- Voice actor — voiceover and audio
- Director — move behind the camera
- Drama teacher — train future actors
- Writer / creator — create your own work
Actor vs related roles
Here's how some neighbouring roles compare.
| Role | Core focus | Note | Pay | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actor You are here | Performs characters and stories | Acting craft, auditions | Baseline | Accessible |
| Art Director | Leads visual direction | Creative leadership | Higher | Medium |
| Illustrator | Creates original artwork | Drawing, style | Similar | Accessible |
| Game Designer | Designs games | Game design | Higher | Medium |
| Fashion Designer | Designs clothing | Design, craft | Similar | Medium |
Scroll the table sideways on mobile. Pay comparisons are directional and vary by market and seniority.
Future outlook
Demand for stories and content keeps growing across film, streaming, and stage, but acting remains intensely competitive — rewarding talent, craft, persistence, and resilience.
- Streaming has increased content demand
- Stories will always need performers
- Voice and games widen the work
- Self-made content opens new doors
- But competition remains fierce
Fun facts 🤓
Most actors do other work between roles — even many you'd recognise.
Streaming has created a boom in content and roles, but also more competition.
Voice acting and games are fast-growing, less-visible corners of the profession.
Rejection is so constant that resilience is as vital as talent.
The magic of fully becoming someone else is why actors endure the insecurity.
Myths about this role
"Acting is easy if you're talented."
❌ Talent is just the start — craft, resilience, and persistence carry a career.
"Actors are all rich and famous."
❌ Most actors earn modestly and do other work; few become stars.
"You need to be discovered."
❌ Most build careers through training, auditions, and persistent graft.
"You need a drama degree."
❌ No — training helps, but talent, craft, and a strong showreel matter most.
"It's not a real job."
❌ It's a demanding craft and industry, just an insecure one.
Is this job right for you?
✅ Good fit if you...
- Are passionate about performance
- Love telling stories
- Are resilient to rejection
- Are willing to work for the craft
- Can handle insecurity
- Have talent and dedication
❌ Maybe not for you if...
- You need financial security
- You can't handle rejection
- You want predictable work
- You dislike self-promotion
- You want guaranteed progression
- You're not fully committed
Passion & reality
Acting is a passion career of real artistic reward and real financial insecurity — most actors supplement income between roles, and persistence matters as much as talent.
✅ Advantages
- Profound artistic reward
- Growing content and voice work
- Self-made content opportunities
- Lifelong craft
- But genuine insecurity
❌ Challenges
- Very insecure income
- Constant rejection
- Fierce competition
- Often needs other work
- Few make it big
How to get started
- Train and build craft drama school, workshops, and practice.
- Build a showreel your work is your calling card.
- Audition relentlessly persistence is the job.
- Get an agent representation opens doors.
- Diversify stage, screen, voice, and self-made work.
What to know before you start
- Talent is only the start — craft and grit matter
- Most actors do other work between roles
- Rejection is constant — resilience is essential
- No degree is needed, but craft is
- Streaming and voice work are growing
- It's deeply rewarding but genuinely insecure
From the field
The same lessons come up again and again from people actually doing the job:
People think you're either famous or failing. The truth is most working actors are somewhere in between — taking roles, doing other work between them, and quietly building a craft over years. It's a real job, just an insecure one.
Working actor · 11 years in
The rejection never stops. You can be brilliant in an audition and still not get it, for reasons that have nothing to do with you. Resilience isn't a nice-to-have in this job — it's the whole thing.
Stage & screen actor · 8 years in
Why do I do it despite the insecurity? Because for a few moments on stage, you genuinely become someone else and an audience comes with you. Nothing else feels like that. That's why actors endure everything else.
Established actor · 18 years in