Actors
SOC Code: 27-2011
Actors carries a 30% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk) and +0.3% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 57,000 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 30% AI exposure, Actors sits 7 points below the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 30% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
50/100
Actors, weighted across 2 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage N/A N/A
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth F +0.3%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) B 30% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Actors in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Open entry with non-declining BLS pace
Actors keeps an HS / some college bar (333 of 832) and sits in Slow growth (245 of 832). Lower formal gates with a non-shrinking employment line - skill and AI desks matter more than credentials here.
Where Actors sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Actors sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
30% Lower than most lower than 70% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Actors vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Actors is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Actors's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 27-2011) code. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Actors be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Actors. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Collaborate with other actors as part of an ensemble.
- 2. Portray and interpret roles, using speech, gestures, and body movements, to entertain, inform, or instruct radio, film, television, or live audiences.
- 3. Work closely with directors, other actors, and playwrights to find the interpretation most suited to the role.
- 4. Perform humorous and serious interpretations of emotions, actions, and situations, using body movements, facial expressions, and gestures.
- 5. Study and rehearse roles from scripts to interpret, learn and memorize lines, stunts, and cues as directed.
- 6. Learn about characters in scripts and their relationships to each other to develop role interpretations.
- 7. Attend auditions and casting calls to audition for roles.
- 8. Sing or dance during dramatic or comedic performances.
- 9. Work with other crew members responsible for lighting, costumes, make-up, and props.
- 10. Tell jokes, perform comic dances, songs and skits, impersonate mannerisms and voices of others, contort face, and use other devices to amuse audiences.
Key Skills Required
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Social Perceptiveness
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Time Management
- Writing
- Coordination
- Complex Problem Solving
Knowledge Areas
- Fine Arts
- English Language
- Communications and Media
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Psychology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Sales and Marketing
- Education and Training
- History and Archeology
- Administration and Management
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Actors?
Actors has an AI exposure score of 30%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Actors?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Actors is projected to grow by 0.3% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 57,000 workers.
What skills are needed for Actors?
Key skills for Actors include Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Active Listening, and others. Typical entry-level education is Some college, no degree.
How much do Actors earn?
Wage data for Actors varies by region, experience, and employer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes median wage estimates in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Actors?
The typical entry-level education for Actors is Some college, no degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves Long-term on-the-job training. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Actors?
Actors roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Actors: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (30% here).
- Aircraft service attendants · AI exposure 30%
- Butchers and meat cutters · AI exposure 30%
- Calibration technologists and technicians · AI exposure 30%
- Derrick operators, oil and gas · AI exposure 30%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+0.3% here).
- Gambling surveillance officers and gambling investigators · growth +0.3%
- Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products · growth +0.3%
- Bus drivers, school · growth +0.2%
- Compensation and benefits managers · growth +0.2%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 26 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Actors' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Actors side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).