the.com/actor
the only profession where lying convincingly earns awards instead of jail time
means A person who performs a role in a play, film, or other dramatic production, pretending to be someone they are not for an audience.
from From Latin actor, meaning 'a doer' or 'one who acts,' from agere, 'to do, drive, set in motion' — the same restless root that gave us 'agent,' 'action,' and 'agile.' Originally the word meant anyone who did a thing, even a plaintiff in a lawsuit; only later did it narrow to the one doing things on a stage. So an actor is, quite literally, just someone getting things done — pretending happens to be the thing.
- origin
- Greek hypokrites meant pretender, source of hypocrite
- first star
- Thespis stepped from the chorus, 534 BC
- banned women
- Men played female roles for centuries
- method madness
- Some stay in character off-camera for months
- survival rate
- Most never earn a living from acting