Career as Actor

There are numerous actors who make an effective profession out of playing small parts, and never have a featuring job, which can at present still be an extremely fulfilling career. Other people who make extraordinary progress at an early stage in their professions become commonly recognized names and get many significant roles. Most actors will have a profession that is someplace in the middle of these two limits.

There are several approaches to get into character and there are actors who frequently research the roles, hobbies, or activities of the characters they play so they can place themselves in that outlook. Physical appearance can be important in making a character too, and actors will be required to frequently lose or put on weight, or change their hair shading to genuinely make the character alive that they are playing.

Audition

As an actor, you’re required to give auditions for various roles that you want to act in. There are various production houses that organise auditions for various actors who are both newcomers and experienced actors. As an actor, you’re required to study the role you want to play and audition accordingly.

Research work

Before an actor begins shooting for the role, he/she is required to conduct research in order to study the detailed characteristics of the role he/she is playing. For instance, an actor must be familiar with the personality of the role, his/her attributes, qualities, negatives, and many more. An actor is required to know the character at a personal level so that he/she can develop it into role interpretations. 

Performing emotions

Any kind of acting is worthless without the actor having the capability to portray the right emotions alongside. An actor is required to perform humorous and serious interpretations of emotions, actions, and situations, using body movements, facial expressions, and gestures. For instance, if your role demands you to be a badminton player, you’re required to work on both the physical and mental attributes of your personality in order to fit in the role.

Portray roles

A successful actor is one who knows how to play various roles that demand contrasting emotions and characteristics from each role. In order to establish oneself as a successful and critically acclaimed actor, he/she is required to portray and interpret roles, using speech, gestures, and body movements in order to entertain, inform or instruct radio, film, television, or live audiences.

Dancing

It is a big plus to know the art of singing or dancing in the acting industry. There might be instances when your role will require you to know a certain form of art. Having prior knowledge and experience about any art form helps you in getting the role.

Study

Before signing up for a film or show, an actor is required to know the whereabouts of the film such as script, plot, theme, location, budget, and many more. An actor is responsible for working closely with directors, other actors, and playwrights to find the interpretation most suited to the role.

Rehearse

Before beginning the shooting, an actor is required to attend certain workshops to sharpen up his/her grip on the character he/she is playing. An actor is responsible for studying and rehearsing roles from scripts in order to interpret, learn and memorize lines, stunts, and cues as directed.

Promote

An actor is responsible for promoting his/her film through interviews, stage shows, performances, interactions with the audience, and many others. An actor is required to closely work and coordinate with the production house of the film in order to manage the promotions and strategies.

Theatre artist: Theatre refers to a branch of performing arts which is concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience, using a combination of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle. Anyone or more of these elements is defined as performing arts. Along with the standard narrative dialogue style of plays, theatrical performances takes forms as plays, musicals, opera, ballet, illusion, mime, classical Indian dance, kabuki, mummers’ plays, improvisational theatre, comedy, pantomime, and non-conventional or contemporary forms like postmodern theatre, postdramatic theatre, or performance art. 

Film critics: Film critics and reviewers are the professionals who write essays or articles describing a movie's content and plot along with analysing its theme and evaluating how engaging the viewing experience was. The film critics are also responsible for interviewing actors and actresses or other individuals involved in making/ producing a film. To perform their job, the film critics usually take notes or create outlines during a film so that they can thoroughly and accurately write their reviews. They might also be required to research a subject or the technical details of a film.

Screenwriter: A screenwriter, also known as a scenarist, is a professional who writes screenplays for television, film, video games, and comics. Screenwriters are required to be good at writing, storytelling, and have a vivid imagination. The screenwriters love movies and television and think they have the passion to make it in this competitive industry. With hundreds of feature films, and dozens of television movies and weekly series produced each year, somebody must be writing screenplays.

Actors are expected to work outside at real locations for most of the time. The film actors working for big media productions sometimes work in big film/ project sets. However, most of their job demands them visiting outdoor settings and staying there for as long as the shoot demands them to. The professionals are also required to work under unfavourable weather conditions and late night shifts are not something new in the industry. Depending on the project and the deadlines, film actors are sometimes required to work for months continuously to different sets of locations around the country or world.

Does Actor require travelling?

Likely

The actors are required to work across various locations both countrywide and globally. Travelling is an essential part of an actor’s work. Depending on the demand of script and production houses, the professionals can be working anywhere around the world. The travelling expenses are covered by the production house they work for, which includes travelling fair, accommodation compensation, food and beverages.

Employment Shifts

Full Time

Acting is a full time job. The actors are required to make important decisions related to roles and creative approach of the shooting. Hence, the professionals are required to work on shoot locations and stay there for days, even months, if required.

Employment Nature

Contractual

The actors are required to usually work on contract basis. The professionals are hired for a particular project and are required to work until all the requirements of the project are met. However, there are some production houses who hire actors on a permanent basis working on several smaller projects rather than a long stretched film.

Presence in Geographical Area

Urban

Almost every media/ production house is based in Mumbai, making it a hub for acting. As an actor, you are expected to work in Mumbai for at least one project. However, the odds are you’ll be working in Mumbai for a lot of your film projects as the film city is situated in Mumbai and all the big banners and production houses have their head offices in Mumbai. 

The secondary cities for the cinema and filmmaking industry would be New Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, and Chennai. The south cinema industry is one of the biggest cinema industries followed by bollywood. There are more opportunities available in these cities and it is easier to gain experience working with several media houses. 

Time Pressure

Time pressure for actors is high. The work environment of actors is not a cakewalk. They are required to work at odd hours putting much more effort than most of the crew members. Depending on the project and the deadlines, they are sometimes required to work for months continuously to different sets of locations around the country or world. These factors increase time pressure and stressful working conditions.

Overtime Details

Actors are required to make important decisions related to filmmaking and the creative approach of the shooting. Hence, they are required to work on shoot locations and stay there for days, even months, if required. The working hours are not fixed and there is no particular starting and shutting downtime. On a usual basis, the actors are required to work for 12-14 hours per day. The work hours can be extended depending on the requirements of the project.

Weekly Hours of Work

Min 50 Hours

There are no specific work hours. Sometimes, their work starts at night because of the demand for a script. Hence, the work hours vary from project to project. Quite often, they are required to work overtime in order to complete a shoot or meet a deadline.

Technical skills: It becomes important for you to make sure that your requirement is invaluable, which means that as a film actor, you have the technical experience needed to do the job right and do it well. It is not mandatory for candidates to be an expert of every element of acting, but it’s sure important to have knowledge of what a good role looks like and how to achieve it, which includes framing, staging, lighting, and the actual technology that should be used.  In other words, for as long a candidate knows how to do things, they’ll have an easy time learning how to do it. As a film actor, to have a little knowledge and some technical understanding of every piece of the filmmaking process is crucial, and this includes camera work, lighting, sound, special effects, design, post-production process, and more. 

Creativity: Creativity is an essential part of acting and characterisation, and it’s impossible to make films without creativity. To claim yourself to be a film actor, you are required to invest your time in understanding the range of acting specialities. As a film actor, you need the creative talent to be able to visualise the production of the film. From the very beginning of the acting process till the end, you are required to see the role from everyone’s perspective, everyone feeds into and off of the ideas for the film. A film actor has to be both creative and flexible, this way you can always find a way to contribute in a film, whether you’re just starting out, or running the show. 

Script reading: The film actors spend hours, months and even years physically making a film, but there’s no way they can make a successful film without having the skills required for written and visual script reading. It is obvious that not everyone can acknowledge a creative script and create the best storyboards, but everyone can surely foster the skills needed to understand, draft, evaluate, and analyse stories, along with written scripts, and wordless visual stories.  As a film actor, they are required to understand the story they are trying to portray in order to create a story well throughout every element of the production. As a film actor, they cannot be successful unless they know how the decisions they make are affecting the story and vice versa. 

Problem Solving Ability: As a film actor, they are required to play many roles, and it is important for them to be responsible for every task their position requires, and they should be able to contribute every section by understanding how their work is affected and affects the work of everyone around them. Film actors are required to act as a leader whenever necessary. Acting is not easy, the film actors will be required to face problems they don’t know how to solve, have dilemmas that will complicate their vision, and they might even encounter problems that will require them to make difficult decisions before moving forward. Problems like these will require them to have quick and decisive problem-solving skills to avoid delay in film production and ensure deadlines are met. 

Communication skills: Irrespective of the industry one works in, communication is the key. But when you are a film actor working on set with countless other crew and cast members, having good communication skills is essential. Without the ability to communicate effectively, no amount of experience or acting expertise can help you bring a vision to life and effectively communicate a story. Effective communication makes sure that everyone working on the production is on the same page on and off the set, whether it includes explaining your own artistic vision, or clarifying your role in creating a film. 

Theatre actor: A theater actor acts in plays and different kinds of live creations, for example, productions, supper theater and men's club appear. Now and again, they go on a visit. Theatre actors have an ability for performing and engaging others. With the most widely recognized scene being a live stage, theater acting does exclude the advantages of various takes and altering that film and TV entertainers appreciate. The average total compensation for a theatre actor who started as an actor in the industry is somewhere between Rs. 3,000 per month. After gaining some experience, they can expect a monthly pay of Rs. 5,000 per month. The top-level salary for a theatre actor is somewhere between Rs. 20,000 per month. 

Commercial actor: The commercial advertising actors express ideas and portray characters according to the product demand of the project. They interpret a writer's script to entertain or inform an audience. The average total compensation for a commercial advertising actor is somewhere between Rs. 20,000 per project. After gaining some experience, they can expect a pay of Rs. 35,000 per project. The top-level salary for a theatre actor is somewhere between Rs. 5 lakh per project. 

Television actor: Television actors are the professionals who play roles and perform in different operas in the diverse field that is television today. They are typically required to put in long hours working on television sets or on location. The average total compensation for a television actor who started as an actor in the industry is somewhere between Rs. 12 lakh per month. After gaining some experience, they can expect a pay of Rs. 30 lakh per month. The top-level salary for a theatre actor is somewhere between Rs. 50 lakh per month.

Film actor: An actor’s main responsibility is to completely connect to the character they are playing and to persuade their crowd that character is genuine by connecting with them and bringing them into the story. This applies to significant roles and littler parts, as all roles join to make an effective creation. The average total compensation for a film actor who started as an actor in the industry is somewhere between Rs. 20 lakh per project. After gaining some experience, they can expect a pay of Rs. 30 lakh per project. The top-level salary for a theatre actor is somewhere between Rs. 3 crore  per project. 

Film acting is one of the most prominent majors offered in the universities who offer the course, hence it is expected to get very competitive in future. More the experience in the industry, the more important and difficult it gets to be ahead of the competition. The employment for film acting is expected to grow as much as upto 10 per cent in the upcoming ten years. This rate of growth ensures that the competition remains fierce in this industry with new talent entering the industry every year and engaging in the field. 

There are many paths available for candidates to get started with their career in acting, the majority of film actors start their careers at the bottom and work their way up. For instance, they may start working as a theatre artist in small/large theatres across the cities. The more time you spend inside the industry, the more knowledge you gain regarding the comprehensive understanding of the key elements of acting. 

Experience in the film industry makes you profound which helps you to get considered for a position of more responsibility and higher budget film. Film actors can start their careers as an intern proceeding with screenwriter, theatre artist, and film director itself.