Actors perform in the theater, work in films or star in television productions. Their job is to interpret a writer’s script and portray different characters on the stage or on the screen to a watching public. Their job involves reading scripts, auditioning, researching their characters, memorizing and rehearsing lines, and performing their roles. Much of the job of an actor involves looking for work, and sometimes it involves long bouts of unemployment while waiting for a break.

When he was a kid, Arbender Robinson’s family moved around a lot. To make matters worse, Robinson was a self-proclaimed bookworm with a stutter. But in fourth grade at Richmond Grade School in Richmond, Illinois, all of that started to change.

In an effort to draw him out of his shell, one of his teachers put him in the elementary school musical. "It was horrible," Robinson says with a laugh.

But then Robinson says he fell in love with the sense of responsibility that memorizing his lines gave him, the teamwork that belonging to the cast gave him, and the sheer fun of it all.

“All of a sudden those values that parents, teachers, mentors and family tried to teach were all coming into play at one time,” Robinson says.

One well-intentioned teacher’s social experiment not only gave Robinson some confidence, but it also pointed him down his future career path. After high school, Robinson studied theater at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He got jobs as a vocalist and an actor with Royal Caribbean Cruises and Walt Disney World, before moving to New York City, where he earned parts in Broadway shows like "Hairspray." Robinson has also worked in the Broadway revival of "Shuffle Along."
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 3.2% employment growth for actors between 2022 and 2032. In that period, an estimated 2,500 jobs should open up.

Although formal education isn’t a requirement to starting a career as an actor, it is a good place to start. However, some now-famous actors, such as Drew Barrymore, Eddie Murphy and Meg Ryan, made it big without any formal training. They ended up catching some lucky breaks that helped jump-start their careers without acting school. Still, that seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Most people hoping to become actors get some sort of formal training.

Prospective actors can train for this profession at a college or university’s drama or theater arts program; they can also train in a theater company’s acting conservatory. To broaden their skill set, they might take dance or music lessons. Hopeful actors should also hone and develop a unique set of abilities, including reading and memorizing scripts, physical stamina to withstand long days on the stage or set, and persistence since much of an actor’s job can involve rejection.