Actors

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.9/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

24% (Low Risk)

Low Risk (21-40%): This occupation has a lower risk of full replacement by AI, software, or robotic systems. Some tasks may be automated or assisted, but the role usually still relies on human judgement, communication, responsibility, physical adaptability, or practical decision-making.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Thinking creatively

Very important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Working directly with the public

Very important
Why this matters
The job involves face-to-face interaction with customers, clients, or guests—answering questions, handling requests, and managing service situations in real time. Roles with frequent public interaction are harder to replace end-to-end because they rely on trust, communication, and adapting to unpredictable human needs.
Jobs that also use this strength

Social perceptiveness

Quite important
Why this matters
Noticing others’ emotions and reactions in the moment and adjusting what you say or do based on why they’re responding that way.
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Critical thinking

Quite important
Why this matters
Weigh options using logic and evidence, spot weaknesses in arguments, and choose the best approach when there isn’t a single clear answer.
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What users think

Based on 2,246 votes

43% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, employees may be able to find reassurance in the automated risk level we have generated, which shows 24% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Actors will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Growth

Slow growth relative to other professions.

The number of 'Actors' job openings is expected to rise 0.3% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 38,800 people employed as 'Actors' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 3 thousand people are employed as 'Actors'.

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What people are saying (120)

Leave a comment
gabriella
28 Nov 2023 18:40
if in 20 years im watching good burger and i see a robot making a sandwich, im deleting netflix
Miguel (No chance)
01 Sep 2022 14:19
Well, extremely realistic voices already exist in games, film and animation. CGI Is also being used right now. But the way i see it, neither of those will replace the personality of an actor, and his/her beauty, which makes us fall in love with him/her.
Anonymous (Low)
24 Jun 2023 11:15
Actors have their own personality, emotions, and creativity, and they produce quality work that a robot couldn't recreate.
Naynesh
10 Aug 2023 05:44
Only a little bit chance of robots to copied of human behaviour sech as walk,look, but does not match real human actor like emotion, feeling, dedication talking,,,,etc....
Nyla :) (Low)
29 Jan 2021 17:04
Acting is a thing that one, needs emotion (which I am aware that technology will most likely get advanced enough for that) , and two, I feel like people would feel better and prefer to see humans instead of AI. This is also just my opinion, if you feel differently, that's ok.
Anonymous (Uncertain)
30 Aug 2023 05:13
No one wants to be inundated with automated junk, but also people don't like paying for art, and as we're seeing with the strikes right now, executives at top studios will do anything to avoid paying their performers.

It's never been easy to be any kind of artist, but now that companies are finding new ways to circumvent paying people their due wages, it's only going to get harder.
Jim
16 Mar 2023 22:17
Acting requires a certain skill and they will never be replaced.
john,Fitzgerald,Kennedy fan (Low)
26 Aug 2022 22:19
If one clever individual codes a robot with the acting skills of some of the most famous actors into its motherboard, then yes.

But no, I searched "comedian" and it showed "actor".
Alvin(Data Scientist) (No chance)
11 Oct 2021 07:15
As much as I HATE this occupation, unfortunately, it will not be automated. In my opinion, it’ll be one of the only jobs left for us. If you want a job in the future, you better be ready to entertain others….
김호연 (Low)
26 May 2026 05:49
사람의 감정표현은 AI가 따라잡을 수 없다 "AI cannot match human emotional expression."
N (Small Chance)
28 May 2021 14:23
I do not believe AI would take over the acting industry, voice actors? Yes. But regular actors/actresses? No. I mean, for the sake of the business don't use AI. No one would want to see AI in a movie, playing the main character. Humans are the ones that naturally have the emotions and feelings, I'm not saying robots don't have feelings, because they can easily be programmed to have them. I'm just saying, robots have the short end of the stick when it comes to the acting industry.
livi (No chance)
07 Jan 2021 20:23
I do not want a robot in my movie(s)/tv show(s).
Rae (Low)
17 Dec 2020 20:35
No AI can replace Ryan Reynolds or Tom Holland
sofia (No chance)
21 Oct 2020 13:41
because as much as we want robots don't have feeling, meaning they cannot act sad, angry or happy
Vinicius
19 Oct 2020 13:01
The acting profession will never end, because we actors deal with feelings, and robots don't express feelings. It can change in the artificial intelligence in cinema as it already exists in several films, but in the theatre, nothing replaces the actor in front of his audience.
Robbie (No chance)
13 Oct 2020 12:06
Robots have no emotion and therefore it wouldn’t be the same. I don’t think you could ever replace an actor, dancer etc with a robot. Why would you ?
Jack Carroll (No chance)
28 Aug 2020 15:43
Robots have no emotion and acting takes skill
James (No chance)
02 Jul 2020 09:32
the ucanny valley will make any attempts at automating acting futile
Tides (No chance)
29 Jun 2020 05:38
Requires sensitivity
Giulia (No chance)
12 Jun 2020 00:07
Because robots couldn’t portray emotion like a person would. And the beauty of acting is that you can live a true story through the characters, and that wouldn’t happen if there were robots acting. There are many more reasons but I’m lazy

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Job description

Play parts in stage, television, radio, video, or film productions, or other settings for entertainment, information, or instruction. Interpret serious or comic role by speech, gesture, and body movement to entertain or inform audience. May dance and sing.

O*NET-SOC code: 27-2011.00