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Actor: what the job actually is

Performing for stage, film, television or voice work, auditioning constantly and earning most of your living between roles.

By , founder, U.S. Air Force veteranPublished Last reviewed How we research and correct this

Actor: quick facts

Actor salary in Ontario: the median pay is $23.00 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is undetermined. The job usually needs a shorter college programme or apprenticeship, or over six months of on-the-job training.

Median pay in Ontario
$23.00 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$17.95 to $33.75 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Undetermined
Usually needs
Usually a shorter college programme or apprenticeship, or over six months of on-the-job training

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 53121. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Playing a character for an audience, on stage, on screen or with your voice. The performance is the small, visible part of a job that is mostly preparation and waiting.
  • Most of the work is auditioning: preparing, performing for a few minutes, and usually hearing no. Getting a role means being good, being right for the part, and being available.
  • Pay is per job, not per year. Job Bank's hourly figure describes paid hours; it does not capture the gaps between roles, and most working actors have another job.
  • There is a union side. In Canada, ACTRA represents performers in film, television, radio and digital media, and Canadian Actors' Equity represents stage performers.
  • Training varies widely. Some actors go through theatre programs at college or university, others through classes, community theatre and set experience.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 7:00 — Warm up your voice and body, then read the sides for tomorrow's audition.
  2. 9:00 — Day job or class. Plenty of working actors have flexible side jobs for exactly this reason.
  3. 12:00 — Self-tape: set up the light, record, reset, record again. Send by two o'clock.
  4. 14:00 — Check email and the casting notices you follow, and update your headshot or resume if needed.
  5. 16:00 — Voice or movement class, because training does not stop.
  6. 18:00 — Evening rehearsal or a show, if you are in one.
  7. 21:00 — Learn lines for the next day.
  8. 22:30 — Auditions you did not get feel the same as the ones you did. You go to bed and do it again.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You like being someone else for a while and you work hard at doing it well.
  • You can hear 'no' regularly without making it a verdict on you.
  • You are comfortable with irregular work and a flexible second job.
  • You are disciplined about voice, body and learning lines when nobody is checking.
  • You enjoy collaborating with directors, crews and other actors.
You may hate this if
  • You want to know your income and schedule months ahead.
  • Auditioning and being judged on how you look and sound would wear you down.
  • You want to stay in one place. Many roles are concentrated in a few cities.
  • You expect to be famous quickly. Most working actors are not.
  • You find waiting by the phone, between jobs, unbearable.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Act wherever you can, early

    School plays, community theatre and student films give you stage time and honest feedback for free. Drama and media arts classes are the cheapest way to find out if you love it.

  2. Train

    Many actors study at a college or university theatre program, a conservatory or private classes. Look for programs that give you performance time, not just theory.

  3. Get seen

    Build a resume, headshots and a short self-taped reel. Auditions come through casting notices, agents and your own network of directors and peers.

  4. Join the union when you qualify

    ACTRA is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents. A common route is to earn qualifying work permits on union productions and apply for apprentice membership. Rules and fees change, so confirm on actra.ca.

  5. Keep a second income

    Teaching, voice work, background performing or an unrelated flexible job pays the bills between roles. Planning this from the start is normal, not a failure.

Where this comes from: Job Bank: Actors, comedians and circus performers in Ontario · ACTRA: Become a member · Canadian Actors' Equity Association

The money

Actor salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$17.95
Low (hourly)
$23.00
Median (hourly)
$33.75
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 53121. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Actor wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Undetermined0 out of 5 stars

  • Since the employment opportunities in this occupation are primarily based on talent or entrepreneurship, they will vary from one individual to another.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

Source: Job Bank — Actors, comedians and circus performers job prospects in Ontario (NOC 53121). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 4 November 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take drama and media arts and audition for every school production, including small parts and crew.
  • Join a local community theatre. Many welcome teenagers and teach by doing.
  • Record a one-minute monologue on your phone and watch it back honestly.
  • Attend live shows and note what the best performers do that you could not.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Self-tape a two-minute monologue and critique it

About 90 minutes
  1. Choose a short monologue from a play or script you can find online.
  2. Learn it so you can say it without reading, then record three takes against a plain wall with decent light.
  3. Watch all three. Note what you did with your eyes, voice and body, and what you would change.
  4. Show your best take to someone who will be honest, and ask what they believed and what they did not.

What it tells you. If you wanted to do a fourth take and felt a lift watching yourself improve, that drive to keep refining is the actor's core habit. If the thought of an audience of strangers watching made your stomach drop and stay down, learn that now; acting can stay a hobby while you pursue a steadier career.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “How many auditions did you do last year, and how many turned into jobs?”
  2. “What do you do for income between roles?”
  3. “How did you get your first paid role?”
  4. “What training mattered most?”
  5. “How do you handle a run of rejections?”
  6. “What would you tell a teenager who wants to do this?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Effectively yes. Most actors are self-employed and treat their career like a business: marketing, bookkeeping and taxes. Some also start theatre companies or production studios.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does an actor make in Ontario?

The median pay for an actor in Ontario is $23.00 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $17.95 to $33.75 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for an actor in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as undetermined for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Since the employment opportunities in this occupation are primarily based on talent or entrepreneurship, they will vary from one individual to another. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become an actor in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a shorter college programme or apprenticeship, or over six months of on-the-job training. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Act wherever you can, early; Train; Get seen.

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

Start from yourself, not from the job.

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Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.