Actor/actress
Key facts
Actors/actresses play roles and parts on live stage performances, TV, radio, video, motion picture productions, or other settings for entertainment or instruction. They use body language (gestures and dancing) and voice (speech and singing) in order to present the character or story according to the script, following the guidelines of a director.
As an actor/actress, your days are filled with interpreting scripts, embodying characters, and collaborating with directors, designers, and fellow performers. You may spend time rehearsing lines, practicing movements, and refining your performance. Depending on the project, your work could involve long hours on set or in the theatre, requiring adaptability and a strong work ethic. The role demands both physical and vocal control, alongside a deep understanding of human behaviour and storytelling.
- • Memorizing lines and understanding character motivations.
- • Utilizing body language (gestures, dance) and vocal techniques (speech, singing) to portray a character effectively.
- • Collaborating with directors and other cast members to achieve a cohesive performance.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Figures cover Legal, social and cultural professionals — 186 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Spain.
Longest-running shortage: Spain, 2 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person’s chances. It describes a market.
Reported demand · Typical pay · Where it is heading (United States, Ireland, Australia, Malta)
| Reported demand | Typical pay | Where it is heading | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not reported | — | +0.3% 2024–2034 · BLS 2024-2034 |
| Ireland | Not reported | — | +15.9% 2023–2035 · Cedefop 2026 * |
| Australia | Assessed as balanced Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 * | — | — |
| Malta | Shortage reported ELA/EURES 2024 * | — | — |
* Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Do you guide students, clients or employees? Use this occupation data in your organisation.
Future Outlook for actor/actress
The outlook for actor/actress is exceptionally stable. While AI tools will assist with daily tasks, the core of this role relies on human judgment, resulting in a high resilience score of 77%.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could actor/actress change as AI adoption grows?
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Human judgement, trust, and context remain strong protectors for this role.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
Model-based estimate. Use it as a planning signal, not a guarantee.
Compare this to your profile
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- work with respect for own safety
- perform live
- manage feedback
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- attend rehearsals
- interpret performance concepts in the creative process
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Arts, Entertainment, & Design
A typical day as an actor/actress
09 09:00 · Morning self-promote
10 10:30 · Mid-morning act for an audience
12 12:00 · Midday adapt to acting roles
14 14:00 · Afternoon engage the audience emotionally
15 15:30 · Late afternoon follow time cues
17 17:00 · Wrap-up interpret performance concepts in the creative process
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
What you need to do this work
The skills, knowledge and tools this role calls for — and the traits and rewards that come with it.
-
perform live
Perform in front of live audiences.
-
follow time cues
Observe the conductor, orchestra or director and follow text and vocal score to time cues accurately.
-
study roles from scripts
Study and rehearse roles from scripts. Interpret, learn and memorise lines, stunts, and cues as directed.
-
engage the audience emotionally
Create an emotional connection with the audience through your performance. Engage the audience with sadness, humour, anger, any other emotion, or a combination thereof, and let them share your experience.
-
interact with fellow actors
Perform together with other actors. Anticipate their moves. React to their actions.
-
interact with an audience
Respond to the reactions of an audience and involve them in the particular performance or communication.
-
act for an audience
Act in front of an audience, according to an artistic concept.
-
use declaiming techniques
Speak for an audience with the expression of rhythm and vocal technique. Take care that articulation and voice projection are appropriate to the character or text. Make sure that you are heard without compromising your health: prevent fatigue and vocal strain, breathing problems and vocal cord problems.
-
adapt to acting roles
Adapt to different roles in a play, regarding the styles, ways of acting and aesthetics.
-
manage feedback
Provide feedback to others. Evaluate and respond constructively and professionally to critical communication from colleagues and customers.
-
follow directions of the artistic director
Follow the instructions of the director while understanding his creative vision.
-
attend rehearsals
Attend rehearsals in order to adapt sets, costumes, make-up, lighting, camera set up, etc.
-
interpret performance concepts in the creative process
Learn and research a part, in personal and collective research and rehearsal, build an acting performance respecting the concept of the show.
-
self-promote
Promote yourself by joining networks and circulating promotional material such as demos, media reviews, website, or a biography. Form a promotion and management team. Propose your services to future employers or producers.
-
analyse own performance
Understand, analyse and describe your own performance. Contextualize your work in one or various styles, trends, evolution, etc. Self-evaluate your work in rehearsals and performances.
-
work with respect for own safety
Apply the safety rules according to training and instruction and based on a solid understanding of the prevention measures and risks to your own personal health and safety.
-
work with an artistic team
Work closely with directors, fellow actors and playwrights to find the ideal interpretation to a role.
literary theory
The different genres of literature and the way they fit into specific scenes.
music literature
Literature about music theory, specific music styles, periods, composers or musicians, or specific pieces. This includes a variety of materials such as magazines, journals, books and academic literature.
- acting techniques
- breathing techniques
- photography
- pronunciation techniques
- vocal techniques
Path to become an actor/actress
What it typically takes to qualify: education level, where it is a regulated profession, and where to study.
Bachelor's or equivalent level
439 programmes in 24 countries teach the core skills of this job. Plus 158 short courses that build single skills.
A few examples, taught in the language of this page:
Bachelor of Arts in Performing Arts (Acting)
Atlantic Technological University · Ireland
Honours Bachelor of Arts in Arts-Music
University College Cork · Ireland
Master Classical Music Panpipes
Conservatorium van Amsterdam · the Netherlands
Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Music
LCETB Administrative Centre · Ireland
Acting
Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin · Ireland
These are 6 of 597.
Sources
- 1. Source: Europass Qualification Dataset Register (European Commission)
- 2. Source: Opintopolku.fi (Finnish National Agency for Education)
- 3. Bron: DUO open onderwijsdata
Growth Pathways & Similar Roles
Explore typical career progression paths, adjacent skills, and similar roles to plan your next transition.
Where does actor/actress fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
For organisations
The data on this page, working for your students, clients and staff.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of training is recommended for aspiring actors/actresses?
What’s the typical work arrangement for actors/actresses?
How important is networking in this field?
Is there a shortage of Actor/Actress in Europe?
Sources: ESCO O*NET ELA/EURES Cedefop BLS Data updated October 3, 2026 About our data