Best City to Be an Actor In: Top 6 Acting Cities

So what is the best City to live in if you want to be an actor? Well it’s a bit of a tricky question and to answer it we have to take into account a number of different circumstances. What country do you live in? What kind of career do you want to have or what kind of work do you want to do? What can you afford or what trade offs are you comfortable making to live in any given city? Those questions at the end of the day can only be answered by you, because no one knows you and your circumstances better than you. With all of that taken into account, there are a few places in the big wide world which are better than others if you want to live and work as an actor, so let’s take a look! 

#1 Los Angeles, USA

If we’re going to talk about the best place to go if you want to be an actor we have to talk about LA. Almost synonymous with the Film industry in and of itself, LA has been a home to actors and filmmakers alike for a long time. When we talk about Hollywood blockbusters, we’re quite literally referring to an actual place, Hollywood, California, which is a neighborhood in the surrounding city of Los Angeles. Make no mistake, LA can be tough and unforgiving for everyone, especially actors, but if you’re interested in the US film industry, then this is the place to go.

#2 London, UK

And now for something completely different, we have London. London is one of the Actor capitals of the world. With a thriving theatre culture, and an ever booming film and television industry, when it comes to being an actor in the UK, most roads lead to London. London is home to one of the largest theatre districts in the world, The West End, which is on par with Broadway. While there are a lot of fantastic regional theatres as well as productions that are shot elsewhere in England and the UK, if you were looking to bet on a place to live based on sheer volume of work, London would be the place. Once again, just like with LA, Londons not an easy place to live, it’s expensive, it can be quite crowded, and actors can sometimes not earn a lot of money from their acting. So keep this in mind if you plan on making the jump to Ol’ Blighty.

#3 New York City, USA

Another big pin on the map for actors is New York City. As mentioned before, New Yor, and more specifically Manhattan is home to easily one of the largest theatre districts in the world… Broadway. But not only that, New York is home to a thriving film and television industry. While it may not be quite on par with Hollywood when it comes to sheer scale some of the cinemas greatest films have been produced and shot in New York, as well as a number of TV shows. Ever heard of Law & Order, well I can’t think of a better example of a staple of the NYC TV industry. Some New York actors have gone so far as to say ‘If you haven’t done something on Law & Order, can you call yourself a New York Actor?’.

#4 Mumbai, India

Home to one of the largest film industries in the world this list would be incomplete without mentioning Mumbai. Mumbai is the centre of the Bollywood film industry, which when you take into account the sheer volume of feature films produced, is the largest in the world and rivals Hollywood, where it gets its name. Bombay + Hollywood = Bollywood! 

#5 Sydney, Australia

Coming in at number five is Sydney, Australia. Now I may be a little biased as this is where a lot of us at Stagemilk are based, and really you could argue that most of the eastern seaboard of Australia, including of course Melbourne, and the Gold Coast are great places to be an actor. However when it comes to being an actor in the southern hemisphere you can’t go past Sydney. Sydney not only is home to Fox Studios Australia where a number of Hollywood films and Australian TV series are shot, as well as numerous film and TV productions being made around the area it also has a thriving theatre scene. Much like London, LA and NYC, Sydney is not the easiest or most affordable place to live, but the arts scene and culture are some of many reasons why this is definitely worth your consideration if you’re looking for a career as an actor.

#6 Hong Kong

For a number of years Hong Kong has been a powerhouse of film on the global stage at one point being the third largest film industry in the world as well as the second largest exporter. While it has seen some decline over the years Hong Kong continues to deliver incredible films to the industry and would be well worth your consideration as an actor and filmmaker.

Honourable Mentions

• Vancouver, Canada
• Berlin, Germany
• Surulere, Nigeria
• Melbourne, Australia
• Chicago, USA
• Paris, France
• Atlanta, USA

Conclusion

It should be said that should you choose to pursue a career as an actor, there’s no one good place to start. As you can see from our honourable mentions you can create the work you want to create, meet like minded people, and be the best actor you can be no matter where you are. The most important thing is that you get out and give it a shot! Because it doesn’t necessarily matter where you are, it’s what you make of it. So whether you’re ready to pack your bags and hit the road or you’re starting your journey where you’re at, we hope this will give you a better idea of some great places to start.