Entry Level Qualification 

12

Career Fields 

Mass Media, Journalism & Entertainment

For Specially Abled 

Career Entrance Exam 

No Entrance Exam

About Career 

1. As an Actor, you will have to face an audience or face the camera to play a role on a stage (in a drama, theatre, etc.), in a motion picture (movies), in a television series, in a music videos, or in other settings for entertaining people, or for instructing or informing them.

2. You work will include portraying and enacting characters for television shows, television series, live shows, feature films, drama, theatre, advertisement commercials, etc.

3. Advertisement commercials may be for consumer products, car manufacturers, sports events, award ceremonies, apparel production companies, jewelry designing companies, etc.

4. You will be working with a film, television or television commercial production companies or with a modeling agency or with an acting / drama school during your initial days. You will need a proper portfolio (collection of your photos clicked by a commercial photographer) to begin as an Actor at the entry level and keep adding new photos to it for getting further work projects.

Actors often get shooting calls at the last minute. You have to be ready all the time and be available. Tough timelines and busy schedules are something you have to get used to especially in your initial days if you want to be successful. You should also be very good at talking (public speaking skills) to new people, interviewers, reporters, etc. as you will be a familiar face in the Media industry if you can become a top Actor.

Key Roles and Responsibilities

As an Actor, you will be involved in following key roles and responsibilities:-

1. Studying and practicing roles from scripts to understand, learn dialogues and memorize lines, stunts, and hints according to director’s ideas.

2. Portraying and interpreting roles, using speech, body movements, and gestures, to entertain, instructor inform television, film, radio, or live audiences.

3. Creating and building funny or serious expressions of actions, emotions, and situations, using body movements, voice modulation, and facial expressions.

4. Working closely with cameramen, producers, directors, make-up artists, stylists, other actors, and clients for producing the required effects, and to finish shoots on schedule.

5. Traveling to various shooting locations as and when required according to shooting schedules.

6. Assembling and maintaining portfolios, profiles on social networking sites and making constant media interaction to build a public image and to gain popularity.

7. Building and maintaining contacts in the Media fraternity and film industry.

Career Entry Pathway 

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject combination as per scheme of studies - training courses for ‘Acting and Theatre Arts’ or similar

After Class 11-12, you can go for various training courses for ‘Acting and Theatre Arts’, ‘Dramatic Arts’, ‘Film Art’, ‘Acting and Modeling’, ‘Film making and Dramatics’, ‘Creative Arts’, ‘Film and Media’, ‘Media & Entertainment’, ‘Media & Communication’, ‘Media Production’, ‘Theatre Stagecraft, Film Production and Media Technology’, beauty pageant classes or similar.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with English & any other subject as per scheme of studies – training courses for ‘Acting and Theatre Arts’ or similar

After Class 11-12, you can go for various training courses for ‘Acting and Theatre Arts’ , ‘Dramatic Arts’, ‘Film Art’, ‘Acting and Modeling’, ‘Film making and Dramatics’, ‘Creative Arts’, ‘Film and Media’, ‘Media & Entertainment’, ‘Media & Communication’, ‘Media Production’, ‘Theatre Stagecraft, Film Production and Media Technology’, beauty pageant classes or similar.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject combination as per scheme of studies – NIOS language course - B. Voc course / Bachelor degree course in ‘Film Art’ or related disciplines

After Class 11-12, you can enroll for National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) Senior Secondary course to enhance your writing skills in any 1 or 2 languages from Hindi, English, Bengali, Tamil, Odia, Urdu, Gujarati, Sanskrit, or Punjabi. Then you can go for a B. Voc (Bachelor of Vocation) or Bachelor degree course in ‘Film Art’, ‘Dramatic Arts’, ‘Theatre Art and Dramatics’, ‘Creative Arts’, ‘Film and Media’, ‘Media & Communication’, ‘Theatre, Stagecraft, Film Production and Media Technology’ or related disciplines.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject combination as per scheme of studies – BPA in ‘Acting’ or similar

After Class 11-12, you can go for a BPA (Bachelor of Performing Arts) degree in ‘Acting’, ‘Dramatic Arts’, ‘Theatre’, ‘Stage Craft’, ‘Dance, Drama And Music’, ‘Media Arts’, ‘Creative Arts’ or related disciplines.

Class 10 all subjects as per scheme of studies – Class 11-12 with any subject combination as per scheme of studies – B. Voc / Bachelor degree in any discipline – PG Dip. / Certificate / PG Programme in ‘Cinema’ or related degrees from premier institute

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After Class 11-12, then a B. Voc (Bachelor of Vocation) / Bachelor degree in any discipline, you can go for Post Graduate Diploma or any Post Graduate Certificate or a Post Graduate Programme in ‘Cinema’, ‘Dramatic Arts’, ‘Acting’, ‘Feature Film Screenplay Writing’, ‘Cinematography’, ‘Direction & Screenplay Writing’, ‘Editing’, ‘Art Direction and Production Design’, ‘Feature Film Screenplay Writing’, ‘Direction’, ‘Electronic Cinematography’, ‘Animation Cinema’, ‘Producing for Film & Television’, ‘Electronic & digital media management’, ‘Cinematography for electronic & digital media’, ‘Editing for electronic & digital media’ or related disciplines from any premier institute like Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Film and Television Institute of India, National School of Drama, Ramoji Academy of Film and Television, M.G.R. Government Film And Television Training Institutem. G.R. Government Film And Television Training Institute, Institute Of Creative Excellence, Asian Academy Of Film & Television, Whistling Woods International, Zee Institute Of Media Arts, Delhi Film Institute etc.

Required Qualification & Competencies 

1. Structured and formal education is not necessary to become an Actor. Very few Actors in the industry today are graduates. However, it is advisable to complete at least senior secondary level of education (Class 11-12) to become an Actor as you will have to interact with journalists, reporters, interviewers and various other media personalities being in the acting industry.

2. While continuing with your education, you can sign up for modeling contracts or take acting classes simultaneously. Even children in the age range of 5-12 years can become Actors today and work in commercials, films / television series to become acting professionals. However, parental supervision is necessary for this age range.

After class 11-12, you can go for:

1. Training courses.

2. NIOS courses.

3. B. Voc courses.

4. Bachelor degree courses.

5. BPA courses.

After your graduation, you can go for a Post Graduate Diploma or a Post Graduate Certificate or a Post Graduate Programme in ‘Cinema’ or related disciplines from any premier institute.

Competencies Required

1. You should have interests for Artistic Occupations. Artistic occupations mostly involve working with creative ideas, art, and designs. These occupations involve abstract or conceptual thinking, creative self-expression and often do not follow any set processes or rules for getting things done.

2. You should have interests for Enterprising Occupations. Enterprising occupations involve taking initiatives, initiating actions, and planning to achieve goals, often business goals. These involve gathering resources and leading people to get things done. These require decision making, risk-taking, and action orientation.

3. You should have knowledge of Fine Arts - Knowledge about the theories and techniques required for producing various works of fine arts such as painting, drawing, illustration, sculpture, digital art, installation art, craft, visual art, etc.

4. You should have knowledge of Communications and Media - how different media such as print, television, radio, and social media works. This includes various ways to inform and entertain people via print, audio, audio-visual and online media.

5. You should have Active Listening Skills- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, understanding the points being made by others, asking questions, etc.

6. You should have Reading Comprehension Skills - Skills in understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

7. You should have Active Learning Skills - Focused and continuous learning from various sources of information, observation and otherwise for application in getting work done.

8. You should have Oral Expression Ability - communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

9. You should have Coordination Skills- working together with other people to get things done.

10. You should have Speech Clarity - the ability to speak clearly so that others can understand you. 

11. You should have Speech and Language Recognition Ability- identify and understand the speech and language of another person.

12. You are always imaginative or in most situations.

13. You act independently sometimes but do not do so in some other times.

14. You prefer to experience new things and have new experiences sometimes.

15. You are mostly impulsive in your action and behaviour.

16. You are fun-loving; you enjoy interacting with people and enjoy yourself.

Career - Job Opportunities & Profiles 

You will find numerous opportunities with multiple films and modeling agencies or acting / drama schools and almost all of them have “open calls” looking for new talent.  Competition is fierce in this field and mere appearance will not be sufficient to prove your capabilities. You will be constantly judged, asked to repeat your shots and often criticized, so your patience and perseverance will win you the battle here.

Career Growth

You may find unlimited work opportunities as an Actor. From a background Model or film extra, you can become a Lead Actor. You may find work opportunity in TV serials or movies in a lead role.

You will be working for an agency or film studio in your initial days and then you may hire your own team with a manager to manage your assignments and appointments once you become a successful Actor.

You might also set up your own school to offer acting classes.

However, as the field is extremely competitive, you may take many years to establish yourself as a successful Actor.

Salary Offered  

1. You might have to struggle a lot at the beginning of your career. It’s very difficult to get a role even if you are extremely talented. If you manage to get a role, you may earn as given below. These are just some examples.

2. For a commercial ad film shoot: In lead roles, you may get Rs. 5,000 – 25,000 for a day’s shoot. In smaller roles, you may get Rs. 2,000-3,000 or even less.

3. For a television series: In the protagonist’s role, you may get Rs. 3,000 – 7,000 a day (a day means 8 hours of shooting shift). In lead roles (other than protagonists’), Rs. 1,000-2,000 a day. In other smaller roles, Rs. 500 – 1,000 or less per day.

4. For a movie: You will be incredibly lucky if you land up a protagonist’s role. If you get such a role, you may get Rs. 2,00,000 – 25,00,000 or more for the movie. In lead roles (other than protagonists’), Rs. 50,000 – 2,00,000 for the movie. In other smaller roles, Rs. 2,000 – 3,000 or less per day.

5. In drama or theatre: At the beginning, you may not be earning anything at all or maybe something like Rs. 500 – 1,000 for a performance.

6. As you will be in a creative field with all kinds of possibilities, based on your career progress as well as favourable reviews by critiques and viewers, based upon the fact as to whether your commercial ad film gets viral or your television series gets high TRP (Television Rating Point, a measure of the popularity of a television series or show) or your film becomes a hit, your earning will go up or down.

7. Assuming that your career will be on the rise, the possibilities could be just incredible. Here are some examples of how much you can earn if everything about your career falls in places:

8. For a commercial ad film shoot: In lead roles, you may get Rs. 200,000 – 15,00,000 or more for a day’s shoot. In smaller roles, you may get Rs. 25,000–50,000 or even more.

9. For a television series: In the protagonist’s role, you may get Rs. 5,000 – 50,000 or more a day (a day means 8 hours of shooting shift). If you become a star, you may charge more than Rs. 50,000 a day. In lead roles (other than protagonists’), Rs. 3,000-10,000 a day. In other smaller roles, Rs. 1,000 – 2,000 or less per day. The lesser figures are for regional television productions.

10. For a movie: If you become a celebrity actor, you may get Rs. 25,00,000 – 30,00,00,000 or much more for the movie. Plus, you may get a share of the profit from the movie. In lead roles (other than protagonists’), Rs. 10,00,000 – 2,00,00,000 or more for the movie. In other smaller roles, Rs. 10,000 – 50,000 or less per day. The lesser figures are for regional movies.

11. In drama or theatre: In this case, your earning may not rise that fast. It will take many years to be able to become a professional actor in theatre irrespective of the review of your show. Most actors, who are professionals (meaning, they have no other occupation), also work in television, movies, etc. in smaller roles or even in lead roles to keep their home fire burning. When you are a senior actor, professional theatre may earn you about Rs. 5,000 – 20,000 for each performance. If you become reputed, you may earn even more.

12. Theatre includes various regional theatre art forms such as ‘Yatra’ in West Bengal.

Monthly Earnings In Indian Rupee

1. Entry level: 0 - 2 years of work experience 

2. Junior Level: From 1 to 12 years of work experience 

3. Mid Level: From 5 to 20+ years of work experience 

4. Senior Level: From 10 to 25+ years of work experience (there could be exceptions in some high-end technical, financial, engineering, creative, management, sports, and other careers; also in the near future, people will reach these levels much faster in many careers and in some careers, these levels will have no meaning as those careers will be completely tech skill driven such as even now, there is almost no level in a Cyber Security Expert’s job)

Famous Personalities 

Not Available

Work Activities 

Performing physical activities - Performing general physical activities that require the use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body.

Creative thinking - Developing new ideas, concepts, innovative solutions to problems, newer ways of getting things done, designing products and services, creating work of art and craft, etc.

Getting Information and learning - Observing, hearing, and reading using computers, or otherwise obtaining information and learning from it.

Developing and maintaining inter-personal relationships - Developing professional relationships with co-workers and others outside organizations and maintaining good relationships.

Working directly with people - Working directly with people to offer them services, providing assistance, etc.

Scheduling tasks -   Scheduling project timelines, tasks and activities.

Working in a team - Working in a team of people; developing a team; maintaining professional relationships among team members.

Organizing, planning and prioritizing tasks - Planning and organizing tasks in order to achieve work goals; prioritizing tasks to achieve goals and making the best use of the time available.

Exercising physically - Exercising physically using various methods, techniques, equipment, and devices; exercising using a fitness regime; running.