Actors express ideas and create images in theater, film, radio, television, and other performing arts media. They interpret a writer’s script to entertain, inform, or instruct an audience. Although many actors work in...
* Actors endure long periods of unemployment, intense competition for roles, and frequent rejections in auditions.
* Formal training through a university or acting conservatory is typical; however, many actors, producers, and directors find work on the basis of their experience and talent alone.
* Because earnings may be erratic, many supplement their incomes by holding jobs in other fields; however, the most successful actors, producers, and directors may have extraordinarily high earnings.
Actors express ideas and create images in theater, film, radio, television, and other performing arts media. They interpret a writer’s script to entertain, inform, or instruct an audience. Although many actors work in New York or Los Angeles, far more work in other places. They perform in local or regional television studios, theaters, or film production companies, often creating advertising or training films or small-scale independent movies.
Actors perform in stage, radio, television, video, or motion picture productions. They also work in cabarets, nightclubs, and theme parks. Actors portray characters, and, for more complex roles, they research their character’s traits and circumstances so that they can better understand a script.
Most actors struggle to find steady work and only a...
Read More
People who become actors follow many paths to employment. The most important qualities employers look for are creative instincts, innate talent, and the intellectual capacity to perform. The best way to prepare for a career as an actor, especially in the theater, is through formal dramatic training, preferably obtained as part of a bachelor’s degree program.
Education and training. Formal dramatic training, either through an acting conservatory or a university program, generally is necessary for these jobs, but some people successfully enter the field without it. Most people studying for a bachelor’s degree take courses in radio and television broadcasting, communications, film, theater, drama, or dramatic literature. Many stage actors continue their academic training and receive a Master of Fine Ar...
Read More
Actors need talent and creativity that will enable them to portray different characters. Because competition for parts is fierce, versatility and a wide range of related performance skills, such as singing, dancing, skating, juggling, acrobatics, or miming are especially useful. Experience in horseback riding, fencing, linguistics, or stage combat also can lift some actors above the average and get them noticed by producers and directors. Actors must have poise, stage presence, the ability to affect an audience, and the ability to follow direction. Modeling experience also may be helpful. Physical appearance, such as having certain features and being the specified size and weight, often is a deciding factor in who gets a particular role.
Many professional actors rely on agents or managers to find work, negotiate c...
Read More
As the reputations and box-office draw of actors, producers, and directors grow, they might work on bigger budget productions, on network or syndicated broadcasts, or in more prestigious theaters. Actors may advance to lead roles and receive star billing. A few actors move into acting-related jobs, such as drama coaches or directors of stage, television, radio, or motion picture productions. Some teach drama privately or in colleges and universities.
In May 2006, actors held about 163,000 jobs, primarily in motion picture and video, performing arts, and broadcast industries. Because many others were between jobs, the total number of actors, producers, and directors available for work was higher. Employment in the theater, and other performing arts companies, is cyclical—higher in the fall and spring seasons—and concentrated in New York and other major cities with large commercial houses for musicals and touring productions. Also, many cities support established professional regional theaters that operate on a seasonal or year-round basis. About 28 percent of actors, producers, and directors were self-employed.
Actors may find work in summer festivals, on cruise lines, and in theme parks. Many smaller, nonprofit professional companies, such as rep...
Read More
Employment of actors is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations. Competition for jobs will be keen. Although a growing number of people aspire to enter these professions, many will leave the field early because the work—when it is available—is hard, the hours are long, and the pay may be low.
Employment in these occupations is expected to grow 11 percent during the 2006-16 decade, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Expanding cable and satellite television operations, increasing production and distribution of major studio and independent films, and rising demand for films in other countries should create more employment opportunities for actors, producers, and directors. Also fueling job growth is the continued development of interactive media, direct-for-Web movies, and mobile content, produced for cell phones or other portable electronic devices. However, greater emphasis on national, rather than local, entertainment productions may restrict employment opportunities in the broadcasting industry.
Competition for jobs will be stiff. The large number of highly trained and talented actors auditioning for roles generally exceeds the number of parts that become available. Only performers with the most stamina and talent will find regular employment.
Venues for live entertainment, such as Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters, touring productions, and repertory theaters in many major metropolitan areas, as well as theme parks and resorts, are expected to offer many job opportunities. However, prospects in these venues are variable because they fluctuate with economic conditions.
The most successful actors may have extraordinarily high earnings but for others, because earnings may be erratic, many supplement their income by holding jobs in other fields.
Median hourly earnings of actors were $11.61 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $8.47 and $22.51. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $7.31, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $51.02. Median hourly earnings were $16.82 in performing arts companies and $10.69 in the motion picture and video industry. Annual earnings data for actors were not available because of the wide variation in the number of hours worked by actors and the short-term nature of many jobs, which may last for 1 day or 1 week; it is extremely rare for actors to have guaranteed employment that exceeded 3 to 6 months.
Minimum salaries,...
Read More
People who work in performing arts occupations that may require acting skills include announcers; dancers and choreographers; and musicians, singers, and related workers. Others working in occupations related to film and theater include makeup artists, theatrical and performance; fashion designers; and set and exhibit designers.
