Actors

ANZSCO ID 211111

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
1,500
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
35%
Female Share
46%
Average age
37

Summary

Actors entertain by portraying roles in film, television, radio, and stage productions.

Specialisations: Mime Artist, Voice-over Artist.

A high level of acting skill is needed to work as an Actor. Some workers also have a university or Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification in acting.

Tasks

  • 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 production directors.

  • Acts parts and portrays roles as developed through rehearsals into film, television, radio and stage productions.

  • Travels between entertainment venues.

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Creative
  • Enterprising
Physical Demand
  • Light
  • Medium

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Actors, Dancers and Other Entertainers, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 35% of people employed as Actors work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 31 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 44 hours per week in their main job. This is the same as the all jobs average.

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Arts and Recreation Services
52.9%
2
Information Media and Telecommunications
20.0%
3
Education and Training
9.0%
4
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
5.5%
5
Other industries
8.9%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

40.8% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

36.0% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

11.2% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

4.2% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

5.6% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

1.5% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.2% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

0.4% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Actors All Jobs Average
NSW 40.8 31.6
VIC 36.0 25.6
QLD 11.2 20.0
SA 4.2 7.0
WA 5.6 10.8
TAS 1.5 2.0
NT 0.2 1.0
ACT 0.4 1.9



Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
37
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
46%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Actors is 37 years. This is similar to the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 25 to 34 years.

    Females make up 46% of the workforce. This is similar to the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Actors All Jobs Average
15-19 3.2 5.0
20-24 12.8 9.3
25-34 29.1 22.9
35-44 21.8 22.0
45-54 17.6 21.6
55-59 5.4 9.0
60-64 4.5 6.0
65 and Over 5.6 4.2
Median Age 37 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

A high level of acting skill is needed to work as an Actor. Some workers also have a university or Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification in acting.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Creative Arts and Culture VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Actors All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 6.9 10.1
Bachelor degree 43.0 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 15.9 11.6
Certificate III/IV 5.7 21.1
Year 12 20.4 18.1
Year 11 2.9 4.8
Year 10 and below 5.1 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Actors, Dancers and Other Entertainers who have strong people skills, can communicate well with diverse audiences and are reliable.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 59%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 55%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 52%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 52%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 52%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 48%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 48%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 48%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 45%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 43%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 43%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 43%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 39%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 39%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 39%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 36%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 36%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 34%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 25%

    Operations analysis

    Understanding needs and product requirements to create a design.

  • 23%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 83%

    Fine arts

    Compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

  • 67%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 54%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 51%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 45%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 41%

    Philosophy and theology

    Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.

  • 37%

    History and archeology

    Events of the past, their causes, how we learn about them, and how they influence the way we live today.

  • 37%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 30%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 26%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 26%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 24%

    Geography

    Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.

  • 23%

    Technical design

    Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

  • 23%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 22%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 19%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • 17%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 14%

    Mechanical

    Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • 14%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 13%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 66%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 61%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

  • 59%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 59%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 52%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 52%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 52%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 50%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 46%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 46%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 46%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 46%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 45%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 43%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 43%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 43%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 39%

    Visualization

    Imagine how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

  • 39%

    Whole body coordination

    Move your arms, legs, and body together.

  • 38%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 36%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 87%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 83%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 79%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 68%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 63%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 58%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 58%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 57%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 57%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 57%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.

  • 56%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 56%

    Coming up with systems and processes

    Deciding on goals and figuring out what you need to do to achieve them.

  • 54%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 54%

    Leading and encouraging a team

    Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.

  • 52%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 47%

    Coaching and developing others

    Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.

  • 46%

    Coordinating the work of a team

    Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.

  • 44%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 43%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 43%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 95%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 67%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 43%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 38%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 24%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 19%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 86%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 81%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 67%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 67%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 60%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 29%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 93%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 92%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 92%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 87%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 85%

    Public speaking

    Talk to a group of people.

  • 85%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 83%

    Competition

    Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.

  • 78%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 77%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 71%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 70%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 70%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 70%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 70%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 67%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 66%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 63%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 62%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 59%

    Bright or inadequate lighting

    Work in extremely bright or dark lighting conditions.

  • 53%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 27-2011.00 - Actors.


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