Actors
In short: today's best AI models could do about 9% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 13% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 87% of the time, stays with people.
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.
55,000 people do this job in the US. $60,424 a year (BLS publishes hourly pay only for this job: its hourly median for a full year of 2,080 hours).
Reviewed on October 18, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on1 h
- A person checks AI's work2 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet2 h
- Stays with people35 h
Actors, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 1 hours, 2 hours become checking its work, 2 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 35 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Rehearse and memorize roles (about 2 h, a person checks); Study characters and relationships (under an hour); Write performance material (under an hour, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 13%
- 0%
- 0%
- 87%
- 0%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 9% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 2%. Today's estimate: 9%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.15% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 122nd largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 2 of its 18 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.78% to 1.1% (released February and March 2025); 0.63% to 0.65% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.16% to 0.15% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.78% | 20 of 708 | 9 of 18 |
| Released March 2025 | 1.1% | 14 of 703 | 8 of 18 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.63% | 33 of 655 | 5 of 18 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.95% | 21 of 672 | 7 of 18 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.65% | 30 of 677 | 7 of 18 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.16% | 114 of 434 | 2 of 18 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.15% | 122 of 447 | 2 of 18 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 76% of this job's working time as physical work. For 5% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 5% in a purpose-built cell. 0.05 of 3, the 588th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 24%
- No robot shown 71%
- In a purpose-built cell 5%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
87% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Rehearse and memorize roles, the in-person work, 21%
- Work out the role with the director, the in-person work, 18%
- Portray roles, the in-person work, 15%
- Perform interpretations, the in-person work, 11%
- Perform as part of an ensemble, the in-person work, 9%
- Audition for roles, the in-person work, 3%
What becomes checking the machine
10% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 3% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Rehearse and memorize roles, costly if wrong, 9%
- Write performance material, costly if wrong, 1%
What to learn
- The conversations. About 87% of the time is conversation and in-person work, which this site leaves with people: listening, explaining, persuading, calming.
- Dealing with people outside the organization. Customers, patients, suppliers or the public: trust with them is built by a person.
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 13% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 18 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study and rehearse roles from scripts to interpret, learn and memorize lines, stunts, and cues as directed.Learning the lines and cues from the script and rehearsing them as directed.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 31% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.1 work days | In person 70%, documents 30% | 18%Desk part half by now |
| Work closely with directors, other actors, and playwrights to find the interpretation most suited to the role.Working the interpretation out in the rehearsal room with the director, cast and writer.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 18% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Portray and interpret roles, using speech, gestures, and body movements, to entertain, inform, or instruct radio, film, television, or live audiences.Playing the role with voice, gesture and movement for the audience or the camera.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 15% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Perform humorous and serious interpretations of emotions, actions, and situations, using body movements, facial expressions, and gestures.Playing emotions and situations with the body, face and gestures before an audience or camera.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 11% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Collaborate with other actors as part of an ensemble.Playing alongside the other actors in the scene.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Learn about characters in scripts and their relationships to each other to develop role interpretations.Reading the script closely to build the role; the understanding is the actor's own.Done more than weekly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Documents 50%, in person 50% | 49%Desk part half by now |
| Attend auditions and casting calls to audition for roles.Performing for casting directors in the room.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Work with other crew members responsible for lighting, costumes, make-up, and props.Working on set with lighting, costume, makeup and props people.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Read from scripts or books to narrate action or to inform or entertain audiences, utilizing few or no stage props.Reading to an audience to narrate, inform or entertain.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 2% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Write original or adapted material for dramas, comedies, puppet shows, narration, or other performances.Writing or adapting the material at the desk.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 1% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Documents 100% | 55%Half by now |
| Sing or dance during dramatic or comedic performances.Singing and dancing as the production calls for.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Audio-Animatronics show figures (Country Bear Musical Jamboree) (Walt Disney Imagineering) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 0.9% | 2.1 h50 min to 4.2 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
| Tell jokes, perform comic dances, songs and skits, impersonate mannerisms and voices of others, contort face, and use other devices to amuse audiences.Jokes, skits, songs, dances and impressions before a live audience.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Walt Disney Audio-Animatronics figure, 'Walt Disney – A Magical Life' (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 0.5% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | In person 100% | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Actors is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 9% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 13% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Actors come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Rehearse and memorize roles (18% of the task's time now, 30% by the end of 2028); Study characters and relationships (49% of the task's time now); and Write performance material (55% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Actors stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Work out the role with the director; Portray roles; and Perform interpretations. Together such tasks are about 63% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Actors learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are the conversations; dealing with people outside the organization; and reviewing work you did not do yourself. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 87% of the working time stays with people, 10% becomes checking a model's work and 3% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Actors?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.15% went to this job's tasks, the 122nd largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 2 of its 18 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 10%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Actors?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 76% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 5% of the working time. Its index is 0.05 of 3. One example: Audio-Animatronics show figures (Country Bear Musical Jamboree) for "sing or dance in performances". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 18 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on October 18, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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