Actor
What the work is
Entertains by portraying characters in film, television, video, live performance productions, audio media and digital games.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Reads scripts and undertakes research to gain understanding of parts, themes and characterisations
- Learns lines and cues, rehearses parts, and applies vocal and movement skills to the development of characterisation
- Prepares for performances through rehearsals under the instruction and guidance of the director
- Acts parts and portrays roles as developed in rehearsals
- May sing and dance, or play a musical instrument
- May undertake promotional work
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a small theatre company in the last week of rehearsals before opening night. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A scene that never worked in rehearsal suddenly lands, and you feel the room go quiet
- A school group stays behind after the show to ask how you do it
- A cast that has become a family by the end of a long run
Hard days
- An audition where you give your best and never hear back
- Work between jobs that has nothing to do with acting, to pay the rent
- A note from the director that changes everything you had rehearsed for weeks
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 231131, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.