Career Profile

Actor

by FundiConnect Editorial Team | 6 August 2026

Career Overview

There's no fixed path into acting. Unlike a career such as accounting, where you know exactly which subjects, degree and board exam you need, acting doesn't work like that. Some people get discovered in their teens and never look back. Others study drama for three years and land their first paid role through a lecturer's contact. Some get spotted by an agent at a school play. Others spend five years going to casting after casting before anything sticks.

What all of them have in common is talent, persistence and thick skin. If you want a career where you clock in at 9 and know exactly what next year looks like, acting probably isn't it. If you're okay with uncertainty in exchange for doing what you love, keep reading — here's a realistic starting point.

Required School Subjects

You don't need to take any specific subjects to become an actor — there's no gatekeeping subject the way Maths is for Engineering. That said, a few subjects will genuinely make you a stronger actor and a stronger university applicant:

Dramatic Arts
English Home Language or First Additional Language
An additional language (extra languages open up more casting roles)
Visual Arts
Music

If your school offers Dramatic Arts, take it. If it doesn't, join the school play, a local youth theatre group, or a weekend drama class instead — admissions panels care more about stage or camera experience than a subject on your report card.

Institution and APS

There are dozens of institutions across South Africa offering acting training, from short evening courses to full degrees. A few well-known ones:

Private institutions:

Universities of Technology:

Durban University of Technology — Diploma in Drama, Faculty of Arts and Design
Tshwane University of Technology — National Diploma and BTech in Drama, Faculty of Arts and Design

Universities:

University of Pretoria — Bachelor of Drama, APS of 30 (3-year programme)
University of the Witwatersrand — BA Theatre and Performance, APS of 34+
University of KwaZulu-Natal — BA Drama and Performance Studies, APS of 28+
University of Cape Town — BA Theatre and Performance, APS of 32+

APS scores change slightly each year, so double-check the current requirement on the university's own prospectus before you apply. Most of these programmes also require a successful audition — worth confirming directly with each department.

Most drama schools also ask for an audition — a monologue, sometimes a song or movement piece — alongside your application. Start preparing that early; it usually matters more than your marks.

Required Qualifications

Here's the honest truth: no qualification will make you a good actor. Talent and stage time do that. A qualification gives you technique, contacts and, for some jobs, a foot in the door. Options include:

Bachelor of Arts in Drama
Diploma in Drama
BTech in Drama
Short courses in drama or acting
Weekend or evening workshops
Part-time acting classes

If a full degree isn't for you right now, short courses and workshops are a legitimate route in — they're often more hands-on, since you spend less time in lecture halls and more time actually performing.

Working Hours

Forget a 9-to-5. Acting doesn't run on a schedule — it runs on the production. Some days you'll be on set from before sunrise until well after dark because the director needs to finish shooting a scene before the light changes. A one-day advert shoot might turn into two long days. A theatre run means working most evenings and weekends while everyone else clocks off.

If routine and predictability matter to you, this is worth thinking through before you commit. If you can roll with an unpredictable schedule, it comes with the territory.

Expected Salary

Actor pay in South Africa varies enormously depending on experience, the type of work (theatre, TV, film, adverts) and how well-connected you are. According to 2026 salary data: Entry-level and mid-career actors typically earn between R10,910 and R26,860 per month, rising to around R36,784 per month after five years of steady work (WageIndicator, 2026). On the higher end, salary trackers report averages closer to R20,000–R21,000 per month for working actors overall, with top earners and established names bringing in significantly more (Indeed, 2026). The gap between those numbers is the real story: pay in this industry is uneven, and it depends heavily on how much work you're booking. Adverts and voice-over work often pay well per gig; theatre pays less but offers more consistent stage time; TV and film sit somewhere in between. Because so much of the work comes from who you know, building relationships with directors, casting agents and fellow actors isn't optional — it's part of the job.

What to Expect

Short courses, workshops and evening classes tend to be more hands-on than a full degree. You'll spend most of your time practising technique alongside other aspiring actors rather than sitting through theory lectures. This is also where you can be selective about what you learn — if you need to sharpen a specific accent or work on stage combat, you can usually find a short course built around exactly that.

Whichever route you take, expect the learning to continue long after your course ends. Most working actors say the real training happens on set and on stage, one job at a time.