Every working actor took a different road to get there. Consider how these performers launched their careers:
- Octavia Spencer spent years in minor and supporting acting roles before winning an Oscar.
- Jonathan Groff booked his first national tour through Backstage’s casting notices.
- Aaron Paul was discovered at an acting and modeling competition after moving from Idaho to Los Angeles.
- Quinta Brunson went viral with character videos she posted on Instagram, which led to a job making videos at BuzzFeed and, eventually, creating and starring in the ABC comedy “Abbott Elementary.”
Each of these actors was ready when opportunity arrived. Below, we’ve gathered everything you need to start your acting career, whether your path leads to Hollywood, Broadway, your phone screen, or anywhere in between.
JUMP TO
- How to become an actor in five steps
- How hard is it to become an actor, and how long does it take?
- Types of acting jobs
- Do you need a degree to be an actor?
- What you need for an audition, and what to expect
- How to find auditions and casting calls
- How to get an acting agent
- Where to live if you want to be an actor
- How to get discovered
- How much do actors make, and do they need other jobs?
Nicoleta Ionescu/Shutterstock
You can become an actor without prior experience, and most successful performers follow a similar path to get there. Here’s how to become an actor in five steps.
1. Build experience wherever you can.
It’s never too late to start an acting career, but the sooner you start performing, the faster you’ll grow. Audition for a school play, join a community theater, sign up for a drama club or summer acting program, or take a weekend workshop. Public speaking counts, too: A wedding toast teaches you how to hold a room. Performing for an audience, practicing your acting skills, and working alongside other actors will give you a solid foundation.
2. Take acting classes.
Actors have no formal educational requirements, but a structured acting class benefits any beginner. Students should take advantage of drama classes and school productions. If you want deeper training, consider an acting degree such as a BFA or MFA. If you’d rather skip the degree, local classes offer an affordable place to start.
3. Assemble your materials.
Casting directors typically require an acting résumé, headshot, and demo reel before they’ll consider you for a role. Early credits from smaller projects fill out your résumé and supply footage for your reel. Treat these materials as living documents, and update them as your career grows.
4. Audition, audition, audition.
Respond to casting calls and attend auditions. Early in your career, any professional credit helps, whether you work as a background actor, book a commercial, join a local theater production, or land a role in a vertical series. You’ll find most early gigs through word of mouth, online casting platforms, and, increasingly, social media.
5. Find an agent when you’re ready.
After you’ve booked a few roles, use that experience to get an acting agent. Research agencies, build a shortlist, and submit your résumé, headshot, and reel. You’re interviewing them, too, so hold out for the right fit instead of signing with the first agent who says yes. Not every actor needs an agent, but the right one can open doors to bigger projects and meatier roles.
Acting careers come with fierce competition and constant rejection, and success is never guaranteed. Talent matters, but so do luck and connections. Before you commit, make sure you’re pursuing acting for the right reasons.
“Often actors are mainly focused on questions like, ‘How do I get representation?’ or ‘How do I get work?’ But perhaps the first question to ask oneself, if one is just beginning, is ‘Why do I want to act?’ ” says casting director Ilene Starger. “If it’s about the work and the process, terrific; if it’s about becoming famous, that is a far more elusive goal—and one which will lead to disappointment, most likely.”
Expect to put in years of hard work before you see tangible results. Rejection never fully goes away (even for stars), so build the resilience to absorb a long string of nos on the way to your yes.
“Never, ever look to the prize,” Spencer told us. “That’s something that you can’t control. What you can control is the work ethic and treating the material with respect. It took me 15 years to become an overnight success, so if you’re only at the three-year mark, honey, you’ve got some time.”
Becoming a working actor can mean anything from headlining a blockbuster to landing a Netflix series to booking a regional commercial. Sorting opportunities by medium will help you decide where to focus:
- Screen: Film, television, commercials, web series, vertical series
- Stage: Broadway, Off-Broadway, musical theater, regional theater
- Voice: Animation, ads, podcasts, video games, audiobooks
- Digital: User-generated content (UGC) and branded social videos, often filmed remotely
Each medium demands its own technique. Acting for the camera requires different skills than playing to a live house, and commercial voiceover calls for different training than a musical theater audition. Newer formats have their own rules, too.
Vertical dramas—the short, soapy series built for phones—reward heightened emotion delivered in tight close-ups. “Vertical content is its own medium, and it requires a specific skill set,” GoodShort head of casting Alex Amsellem explains.
Many actors move between stage and screen throughout their careers. Still, knowing which medium excites you most will help you choose the right training.
Kozlik/Shutterstock
In short, no. Formal training helps, but plenty of successful actors never earned an acting degree. Nearly every working actor trains in some form, though, and the right option depends on your age, experience, and whether you’re aiming for stage or screen.
- Acting classes: Classes vary widely in content, time commitment, and price, which makes them the best fit for most beginners. Research classes in your city using Backstage’s Call Sheet or friends’ recommendations, audit a few, and choose the teacher and acting technique that suit you. Then commit for at least six months. Improv and online classes offer flexible ways to round out your training.
- Acting coaches: Coaches excel at fine-tuning, but they can’t replace fundamentals. Casting director and coach Marci Liroff recommends that beginners start in weekly classes, where they’ll learn movement and how to use their voice, before hiring a coach.
- Summer training: Teen actors can sharpen their skills alongside peers at summer programs. Atlantic Acting School in NYC, whose alums include Rose Byrne and Anna Chlumsky, runs a four-week Summer Teen Conservatory for ages 14–18. Stagedoor Manor in Loch Sheldrake, New York, counts Natalie Portman, Robert Downey Jr., and Sebastian Stan among its alumni.
- Higher education: A theater degree won’t suit every actor. Degrees cost a lot and guarantee nothing. But a BFA or MFA can help you build connections, develop discipline, and deepen your craft. Degrees carry the most weight in theater; Hollywood cares less. When you choose an undergraduate program, weigh its reputation, location, local theater scene, and faculty. Backstage’s list of the top acting colleges in the U.S. is a good place to start.
Nikita Sursin/Shutterstock
Every actor needs a headshot, résumé, and demo reel, plus a reliable self-tape setup. Depending on your specialty, you may need more: Musical theater performers, for example, should bring a book of prepared song cuts.
Headshot: A headshot is a professional, chest-up color photo with your face clearly visible. Most submissions happen digitally now, so you’ll upload it to your casting profiles; keep 8" x 10" prints on hand for in-person auditions. Your headshot is your calling card for casting directors and agents, and the foundation of your personal brand.
Résumé: Like a traditional résumé, an acting résumé should fit on one page and summarize your relevant experience. Include:
- Your name
- Your agent’s and manager’s names (if applicable)
- Your phone number and email
- Union affiliation (SAG-AFTRA, SAG-AFTRA–eligible, AEA, nonunion, etc.)
- Training
- Acting credits
- Special skills (accents, martial arts, horseback riding, musical instruments, etc.)
Group your acting credits by category, such as:
- Film/TV
- Commercials/industrials
- Broadway
- National tours
- Regional theater
- Academic theater
List each credit’s title, your role, and the director or producing organization; casting directors sometimes call for feedback. For screen work (especially self-tapes), include your height and hair and eye color. Theater résumés usually skip those details.
Above all, keep it clean and scannable. “Put yourself in the shoes of the person viewing it,” says actor David Patrick Green. “In most cases, they only have a few seconds to look at your material. If it is crowded and overwritten, it will be hard to latch onto what is relevant to their project.”
Demo reel: A demo reel strings together clips of your past work, and it can include a scene or monologue you film specifically for the reel. Reels generally run about two minutes, with clips of 20–30 seconds each. Casting directors, agents, and producers use them to decide whom to call in, so lead with your strongest material.
Self-tape setup: Many first-round auditions now happen on tape, and union productions follow SAG-AFTRA’s self-tape rules. Invest in clean framing, good lighting, and clear sound. In fast-moving formats like vertical series, casting teams sort through high volumes of tapes, so a professional setup helps you stand out.
What to expect at the audition: Preparation is everything. Research the project and understand the context of your scene. Memorize your sides, stay open to redirection, and, for musicals, have your 16 bars polished and your voice warmed up. Walk in confident that the role is yours; desperation reads in the room.
Our guide on how to audition covers the rest, from what to wear to how to approach TV, theater, and commercial auditions.
WATCH:
UfaBizPhoto/Shutterstock
Leverage your connections. Ask teachers, coaches, fellow actors, and friends about opportunities in your area.
Use online casting platforms. Platforms like Backstage list thousands of vetted casting calls, updated daily—from student shorts, web series, and regional theater to studio features, Broadway productions, and vertical series. These gigs build your reel and, eventually, attract an agent.
Use social media. Casting offices, production companies, theaters, and brands post open calls and self-tape requests directly to their followers. Follow casting directors and local producers on Instagram, TikTok, X, and Facebook, and search tags like #CastingCall and #OpenCall. Brands also scout performers for paid UGC campaigns, many of them remote. And treat your own profiles as a portfolio: Use your headshot as your profile photo, pin your best clips, and, on Instagram, sort Story highlights by skill (comedy, drama, singing) so a casting director can find your range in seconds. Check out our guide to social media rules for actors for more tips.
Check your local film office or commission. States, cities, and counties run film commissions to support local production, and many share casting calls, classes, and production listings. Some go further: The New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission has told Backstage it plans to launch NJActors Hub, where performers can post headshots and résumés for New Jersey projects.
Create your own work. Many of today’s most exciting performers wrote the roles nobody was offering them. Rachel Bloom (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”), Issa Rae (“Insecure”), Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson (“Broad City”), and Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld (“High Maintenance”) all built audiences online before networks like the CW, HBO, and Comedy Central picked up their work.
Short-form video has made that path faster and cheaper. Benito Skinner grew a TikTok following of more than one million with his pop culture–savvy, wig-heavy sketches, then created and starred in Prime Video’s “Overcompensating.” USC theater grad Tyler Joseph Ellis started posting comedy videos during the pandemic and parlayed his following into roles on “The Sex Lives of College Girls” and “That ’90s Show.” And Arif Zahir landed the voice of Cleveland Brown on “Family Guy” after years of posting impressions on YouTube.
To make your own content work for you:
- Create a recurring character: Social media strategist Lenka Silhanova told Backstage that a signature character is “your foot in the door for casting,” and casting teams may even ask you to play a version of it.
- Post on a schedule: Rae credited part of her web series’ success to releasing new episodes on a regular schedule, like a network show. Keep a running list of premises so you never stall.
- Collaborate: Rae’s advice to emerging creators is to join other people’s projects, and team up with collaborators whose strengths complement yours.
- Show your special skills: If you can do stunts, impressions, or accents, build them into your videos.
How To Make a Demo Reel 
Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock
Beginners often rush to find representation, but you don’t need an agent at the very start of your career—and most agents won’t sign an actor with zero professional credits. First, spend time training, booking gigs, cutting a strong reel, and networking.
Once your résumé has some heft, research agencies that fit your goals. Some agents specialize in theater, others in TV or commercials, and a growing number of agencies have built departments dedicated to vertical content. Target agents who represent actors with careers and types similar to yours, then submit a cover letter, headshot, and résumé. A referral beats a cold submission. Your online presence can help, too: One agent writing for Backstage noted that when two actors are equally talented, a strong social following can tip the scales.
Our guide to getting an acting agent covers everything from your first meeting to the red flags of a bad rep.
How to Get an Acting Job 
guruXOX/Shutterstock
For decades, aspiring actors faced one big question: New York or Los Angeles? Both remain major markets, and the right choice depends on the work you want.
- L.A.: Los Angeles is still the center of the film and TV industry.
- NYC: New York leads for Broadway and theater opportunities, and its screen production keeps growing.
But the map is shifting fast. Los Angeles logged 19,694 on-location shoot days in 2025, down 16.1% from 2024, according to FilmLA. California expanded its film and TV tax credit in July 2025, though FilmLA says the full effect will take time. In the fourth quarter of 2025, California’s production count fell 20% year over year, while New York’s rose 31%, according to ProdPro data reported by the Hollywood Reporter.
Meanwhile, generous tax incentives have turned other states into serious contenders:
- New Jersey: The Garden State’s production count jumped 75% over the same period, the largest year-over-year growth of any state. Much of that growth comes from a 35% tax credit that rewards local hiring, including cast. Netflix is building a $1 billion studio in Fort Monmouth, Lionsgate is constructing a campus in Newark, and Paramount has leased 1888 Studios in Bayonne. “You can stay here and feel confident that you’re going to be working, Jon Crowley, executive director of the state’s film commission, told us. Start your search with the best acting schools in New Jersey.
- Georgia: Atlanta remains home to major facilities likeTyler Perry Studios and Trilith, but the boom has cooled. Georgia’s production spending fell to about $2 billion in fiscal 2026, its lowest level in roughly a decade and well below its 2022 peak of $4.4 billion, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Still, Georgia hosted 280 productions in 2026. Learn how to become an actor in Atlanta and browse current Georgia casting call.
- Texas: A $1.5 billion incentive program spread over 10 years became law in 2025. Eyeing a Texas-set drama? Learn how to get cast in a Taylor Sheridan production.
- Louisiana: New Orleans continues to draw film and TV work with its own incentives.
These markets cost less to live in than L.A. or NYC, and because incentives reward local hires, productions in these areas cast regionally. Acting coach Todd Etelson recommends that new actors take advantage of regional markets. “If you’re willing to travel, there’s less competition in regional markets like Philadelphia, Washington, Richmond, etc.,” he says. “You’ll gain more auditions there and build your résumé at a quicker pace.”
How to Audition 
wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock
Any A-list actor will tell you that if you’re in this business to become famous, you’re in the wrong business. The stars on magazine covers got there through years of training and rejection. They earned the respect of their peers, agents, and casting directors, and they connect with audiences through charisma and warmth.
That said, social media has become one of the main routes to discovery, since casting directors scroll, too. Social media expert Heidi Dean points to Tom Holland, whose daily Instagram stunt videos made a vivid case for him as Spider-Man, as an example. Vertical series offer another launchpad: The format casts many first-time actors, and Hollywood veterans have started to take notice.
To make yourself discoverable, build a consistent personal brand that reflects your type and the roles you want to play. A following may get you noticed; talent, training, and professionalism will sustain the attention. As Skinner told Backstage, “Nothing will ever just fall into your lap.”
“Perhaps the easiest way to get discovered is to lose interest in discovery because you’re so profoundly in love with the art of acting, doing it for its own sake,” say acting coaches Risa Bramon Garcia and Steve Braun. “When you lose yourself in it, focus on each glorious moment as opposed to the end game, and do the work of falling in love with acting, discovery comes.”
New Africa/Shutterstock
Actor pay varies wildly by medium, role size, and union status. The median hourly wage for actors was $29.05 in May 2025, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and many actors go long stretches between jobs.
Union contracts set the minimums. SAG-AFTRA members ratified a new TV/Theatrical Agreement that took effect July 1, 2026, and raises minimums 3% each year through 2029. Current minimum rates include the following (screen rates apply through June 30, 2027):
- Film leads and supporting players: $80,000 minimum for a run-of-the-picture deal, usually negotiated upward
- Film day performers: $1,283/day or $4,456/week on films budgeted at $2 million or more
- Background actors: $231/day
- TV major-role performers on a single episode: $7,057–$11,290/week
- Broadway: $2,799/week as of Sept. 28, 2026, under Actors’ Equity Association’s Production Contract, which runs through September 2028 with 3% annual raises
- Off-Broadway: Roughly $700-1,600/week, depending on the theater’s size
- Vertical series: Leads typically earn $200-500/day; the work is mostly nonunion, so pay and conditions vary
Most actors don’t earn a living wage from acting right away, which is where a survival job comes in. Look for work with flexible hours so you can make auditions: walking dogs, tutoring, babysitting, or restaurant work as a server, host, bartender, cater waiter, or barista. Rideshare driving and freelance virtual assistant work offer flexibility, too, and many actors now earn extra income creating UGC videos for brands, which also sharpens their on-camera skills.
Pick something you don’t dread. A job that drains you will make it harder to bring your best to auditions. And while a traditional 9-to-5 offers more financial security, it makes daytime auditions and casting calls nearly impossible to attend.
No matter how you get your start (or keep yourself fed), the actors who last are the ones who keep training, keep auditioning, and stay ready for the moment their opportunity arrives.
13 Best Cities for Actors to Break Into Showbiz 
