How much does it cost to be an actor?

Hi ShatasiaCodman2,

When I was 19 years old I moved to NYC to pursue a career in acting. I studied at some of the best acting schools the city could offer, and did some regional shows that did very well. The question you want to answer is not how much will acting cost you upfront, but what will it cost you in exchange for something else you may want to pursue? Are you passionate enough about acting that you are willing to sacrifice other things to pursue a career in it? If you are, think about the intangible costs associated with this, such as, forgoing college, or working in finance, or having a family etc... Upfront the costs are low as others have mentioned in this post, but as all professional and successful actors will tell you, and I have met many of them, there is certainly a price that has to be paid.

Being an actor/actress in the city is a difficult lifestyle. During the day unless you have a trust fund or family to support your lifestyle, you will need to find other types of work to support yourself, while at night you'll hopefully be out auditioning and working to perfect your craft. Building a resume, and connecting with the right people in the industry can take some time and it takes a certain number of hours on stage to become a Union actor and proving yourself, sometimes 2-5 years worth. Are you ready for that commitment?

My advice to you would be to find a good day job, one you can tolerate and make a decent living on and that provides a good amount of flexibility, so you can go to auditions, be a part of shows, and work to improve your craft. Be relentless about attending open call auditions and get as much experience under your belt as possible. High School is the perfect place to start. Be a part of your school theatre troupe, audition for roles in your local community, and build, build build those relationships. Who knows, you may get an introduction to someone in NYC or LA that could really help you out. But first and foremost, delve into the art and study of acting. It's not as straightforward as most think, there is a lot to be learned. Read up on Stella Adler, Method Acting, Marlon Brando, Strasberg, etc... Then when you've done your research and know what you'll be getting into, make a decision to move forward or go in another direction.

Hope that helps!

Thanks to modern digital technology, costs of the basic actor tools - Headshots, Resume, Postcards/Business Cards - have decreased significantly & you can send them farther & faster. Used to be a good headshot would cost at least $800 for the session w.a good photographer + boxes of hard copy prints but now you can get at all that for half that. Know what u want. Simple? Glamour? Model? Hair & makeup are significant costs for women but less for men. So let's say about $500 for headshots (still good to have some hard copies w/resumes attached handy) & w.biz cards - some sites offer Free cards! but if u want fancier or w.pic you're gonna pay $100-$200 more.
Let's say you wanna go All In & relocate w.all your talents & tools to LA or NYC? I'd say have at least $10,000 in the bank for a solid start.
Tends to cost much more for a college/university degree...but depends on the route you wanna take...

I agree with the price points Ezra listed above (though headshots and reproductions can run you more than $800 sometimes), but there are a number of other expenses involved in being an actor. These include, but are not limited to:
1. Professional Wardrobe: You need a variety of clothes, shoes, etc. for auditions.
2. Training: A good actor is in a constant state of training. Workshops, private lessons, group classes, etc. which can get quite expensive, especially if you are living in a hub like NYC, Boston or LA.

3. Materials: Again, a successful actor is in a constant state of learning. Searching for new monologues, reading plays, watching films, etc. Though the library is a suitable way to do this for free, you will want to buy plays, songs, books, films, etc. for your own personal collection.

These are just a few other things to think about. One note: once you are making a significant amount of money as an actor and filing taxes as a performer, you can write off a lot of these expenses as deductions... :) Hope this helps.

As per the third question: it is pretty much the same for all. The reason being we are actually talking about Auditioning, which is what an actor spends most of his/her time, energy & resources doing. The cost derives largely from making yourself Available to do so.

Being an actor is more of a cost of time and uncertainty than money. You will likely have to support yourself with another job before you can become a full-time actor because lots of people want to be actors, so the "barrier of entry" is low and there's no formal training program you have to enter to get accreditation. Because in theory anyone can try it, in practice lots of people do.