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Actor

Creative

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.

You can enter this career straight after SPM. A degree is optional, not required.

Creative Arts & Media

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Collaborate with other actors as part of an ensemble.
  2. 2Portray and interpret roles, using speech, gestures, and body movements, to entertain, inform, or instruct radio, film, television, or live audiences.
  3. 3Work closely with directors, other actors, and playwrights to find the interpretation most suited to the role.
  4. 4Perform humorous and serious interpretations of emotions, actions, and situations, using body movements, facial expressions, and gestures.
  5. 5Study and rehearse roles from scripts to interpret, learn and memorize lines, stunts, and cues as directed.
  6. 6Learn about characters in scripts and their relationships to each other to develop role interpretations.
  7. 7Attend auditions and casting calls to audition for roles.
  8. 8Sing or dance during dramatic or comedic performances.
  9. 9Work with other crew members responsible for lighting, costumes, make-up, and props.
  10. 10Tell jokes, perform comic dances, songs and skits, impersonate mannerisms and voices of others, contort face, and use other devices to amuse audiences.
  11. 11Read from scripts or books to narrate action or to inform or entertain audiences, utilizing few or no stage props.
  12. 12Promote productions using means such as interviews about plays or movies.
  13. 13Prepare and perform action stunts for motion picture, television, or stage productions.
  14. 14Write original or adapted material for dramas, comedies, puppet shows, narration, or other performances.
  15. 15Introduce performances and performers to stimulate excitement and coordinate smooth transition of acts during events.
  16. 16Dress in comical clown costumes and makeup, and perform comedy routines to entertain audiences.
  17. 17Construct puppets and ventriloquist dummies, and sew accessory clothing, using hand tools and machines.
  18. 18Perform original and stock tricks of illusion to entertain and mystify audiences, occasionally including audience members as participants.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • Mime
  • Actor
  • Comic
  • Extra
  • Actors
  • Double
  • Actress
  • Comedian
  • Minstrel
  • Narrator

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. Typical entry

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. 5

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationLess than high school

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

Visual Art (PSV)Draws directly on Fine Arts — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Bahasa MelayuDraws directly on Communications and Media — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
BusinessDraws directly on Sales and Marketing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Sales and Marketing — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Fine Arts93%

    Visual Art (PSV)

  • English Language86%

    English

  • Communications and Media82%

    EnglishBahasa Melayu

  • Sociology and Anthropology69%
  • Psychology65%
  • Customer and Personal Service62%

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleConstant contact
  • Dealing with customers or the publicHigh
  • Leading or coordinating othersA little
  • Handling conflict situationsRarely
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

13%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.19%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job — and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Broadcast Journalist / Media Producer

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

Diploma

Skill-first qualification. Work after, or enter degree Year 2. Polytechnics keep it affordable.

2.5–3 years

Related careers

If this interests you, these are worth a look too.

About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Actors

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue