Is Acting a Skill or a Talent? (Can Anyone Learn to Act?)

Recently I’ve seen a lot of people online discussing whether acting is a skill or a talent. Many people have differing thoughts on this subject, so I thought I’d write a blog post to provide my thoughts on the subject and finally come to a conclusion to the question “is acting a skill or a talent?”

Acting can be both a skill and a talent. Whilst some actors are naturally gifted performers, the best actors are those that dedicate time and effort to learning and practicing the craft. Infact, untalented actors that put in the time and effort will, over time, become better performers than those with just talent.

Why and how did I come to this conclusion? Well in this blog post we will explore this question and shed light on what it really takes to become a successful actor.

What is a Talent?

READ: What Makes A Great Actor? (Talent Isn’t Important)

A talent is a natural ability to perform a particular activity without the need for training or practice. Although, many people use the term when refering to someone that is so good at what they do that they make the activity look easy, and therefore seemingly innate.

It’s very common for people to call sports professional, dancers or any other skilled person, talented. But what they don’t see is the hours of regimented practice, the early mornings and late nights, the times where you feel that you’re not good enough.

Examples of Talents

• Physical Abilities (running and swimming)
• Mental Abilities (Leadership and problem solving)
• Creative Abilities (Singing and acting)

What is a Skill?

Skills are abilities that have been learned, developed and improved upon over time through practice and experience. Learning a skill requires effort, dedication, and a willingness to try and fail without giving up. Skills often take years to master and many don’t have a tangible skill-ceiling.

For example, an athlete may have the physical attributes required to play a certain sport (for example, being tall for basketball), but only through consistent, regimented training can they truly become skilled enough to play professionally.

Examples of Skills

• Physical Abilities (running and swimming)
• Mental Abilities (Leadership and problem solving)
• Creative Abilities (Singing and acting)

The Argument for Acting as a Talent

Some people believe that in order to become a truly great actor, you must have an innate talent. I think that this theory comes through watching some of the all time great actors and how they almost make it look easy. And if it’s easy for them, they must have an innate talent, right?

It’s true that everyone has a different level of ability naturally when it comes to acting. Some seem to be natural performers with the ability to enhabit characters with ease, whilst others give bland performances that sound like nothing more than reading aloud. Some people therefore believe that you must be talented in order to become a good actor.

The Argument for Acting as a Skill

People that believe that acting is a skill believe this because they see a development over time in their performances. Actors train at drama school, with acting coaches or in workshops to learn acting techniques, vocal techniques, how to use movement to display a character or emotion, they learn to understand concepts that inform how we act. These things are learned and developed through practice.

The ability to perform convincingly is one that takes years of practice, so much so that even the most experienced and masterful actors still struggle and still fail. Actors are students of life, we learn from our surroundings, we take the experiences in our lives (both good and bad) and use them to understand how people act in day to day life.

Actors take the time to understand the fundamental and psychological ways that our brains work in order to use that in their practice. For example, the idea that people seek comfort is well-established. People avoid the gym because watching TV and eating icecream is easier. Similarly if there is a chair in a room, we sit in it unless there is a specific reason not to, because it’s easier than standing.

So when the actor on stage is choosing not to sit down on the sofa that’s right next to him, there should be a reason because people don’t just stand around unless their is a reason. Nuances like this are what make performances natural.

Whilst some people may find this inherently, which could be considered talent, they may not understand what they’re doing, or be able to replicate it as often. Learning acting as a skill ensures that you understand what you’re doing in order to be more consistent.

Skills Needed for Acting

• Acting Technique
• Vocal Technique
• Movement
• The ability to research
• The ability to perceive your surroundings
• Stamina
• Ability to take direction
• Memorising lines

The Reality: Acting is a Combination of Skill and Talent

The truth is that acting is both a skill and a talent. Everyone is born with varying levels of acting ability. Those with a higher natural ability could be considered “talented,” but you can always improve through training, practice and experience.

In my opinion true talent, without the need for any form of training, is very rare. It’s not often that someone can go from never having acted before, to winning awards and being able to convincingly play a diverse range of roles overnight. Someone may be naturally good at playing a certain role, but with skill comes range. In most cases what we consider to be talent is someones hard work paying off.

In a 2023 survey that I conducted, 72% of actors believed that acting was a combination of skill and talent, with 23% believing it’s just skill and just 5% believing that being an actor takes talent.

Can Anyone Learn to Act?

So with all that being said, the BIG question is can anyone learn to act?

Yes, anyone can learn to act. Whilst some actors seem to be born with a natural ability to give emotionally convincing performances; through proper training and practice, someone that has no ability or is even considered a “bad actor” can also learn to act at the same level.

In fact, someone that is considered a “bad actor” can actually become a better actor than someone that has natural talent. How, you ask? If someone with a natural talent doesn’t then hone and practice that talent, they could be outpaced by someone that has no talent at all, but pursues and takes acting seriously through training, practice and experience.

Some actors that have a high baseline ability rely on that ability and rather than challenge and push themselves, they take the easy route. This is where a bad actor that wants it enough can become truly great.

Notice that my lists for examples of skills and examples for talents are both the same, this is purposeful. Many people give up on their dreams because they believe that they don’t have what it takes. But it’s entirely possible to learn what it takes through properly regimented practice.

If you’d like to learn how to become an actor, why not check out my blog post on How To Become an Actor, where I go in-depth into every step of the process, from beginner to professional. From training, to getting an agent.