The 13 Best Online Acting Courses to Help You Deliver Your Star-Making Performance 2024

Whether you want to pursue it as a career or it’s just something you like doing for fun with friends, acting is a great way to express yourself creatively. However, if you’re just starting your journey as an aspiring performer, finding out how to learn acting can be tough.

To help you out, we’ve made a list of some of the best online acting courses available today. First, we’ll walk you through what you should look for in an online acting course. Then, we’ll discuss our chosen courses in detail, giving you the strengths and weaknesses of each one. Finally, we’ll wrap things up by answering some questions you may have about learning acting online.

What to Consider in an Online Acting Course

There’s no shortage of acting courses available online, so it’s important that you know how to tell which ones are worth your time and hard-earned money. We’ve ranked our course selections according to how they rate in these categories, and we’ll discuss each one in our reviews.

Skill Level

Most of the courses on our list are intended for beginners, but some of them contain helpful information that experienced actors will find valuable as well.

Cost

Our selected courses come from a variety of websites, each with its own pricing strategy.

Udemy charges on a per-course basis, and the price varies for each class. Prices range from $20 to $130.

Skillshare offers access to all of its premium-level classes for either a monthly ($32) or yearly ($168) fee.

LinkedIn Learning gives access to its course library for a monthly ($30) or yearly ($240) fee. If you haven’t already, you can take advantage of the 1-month free trial that LinkedIn offers. If you complete the courses you’re interested in before the trial expires, you can enjoy them at no charge!

MasterClass works in a manner similar to the previous two options except that it only offers one payment option ($180/year), which lets you take as many of their courses as you want.

Length

Acting courses’ runtimes vary widely. Some clock in around roughly an hour, while others are much longer and offer 4-10 hours of instruction. We’ll list the runtime for each course on our list, so make sure you check it before you buy the class.

Curriculum

Some people may think of acting as a homogeneous field, but if you’re reading this article, you definitely know better. Acting is a remarkably varied art form, with some performers specializing in film or TV acting while others pursue voice or stage roles. There are also actors who are so talented that they can play several different types of roles. For instance, sometimes you may hear a film or TV actor doing a voice role.

For our list, we’ve considered courses that cover screen, stage, voice and child acting. We’ve also included some courses which discuss how to market yourself as an actor and increase your chances of being cast.

Now that we’ve shown you how we chose and ranked the options on our list, let’s take a look at the best online acting courses available today!

Course Breakdown

Course Title	Curriculum	Length	Cost	Expertise Level	Link to Course
Acting 101 for Adults	Film, TV, and commercial acting; making resumes and headshots, dealing with agents/managers	6h 52m	$25	Beginner	Click Here
Samuel L. Jackson Teaches Acting	Film and TV acting, auditioning, working with directors	5h 0m	$180/year	All levels	Click Here
Helen Mirren Teaches Acting	Film, TV, and stage acting; playing fictional characters and historical figures, working with writers and directors	6h 17m	$180/year	All levels	Click Here
10 Hour Acting Masterclass	Beginner acting advice; headshots, agents, casting directors	10h 13m	$32/month or $168/year	Beginner or Intermediate	Click Here
Natalie Portman Teaches Acting	Film acting; working with directors and costars	2h 37m	$180/year	All levels	Click Here
Voice-over Masterclass – The Official DIY Guide to Voice Acting	Voice acting; recording your voice, applying for voice roles	45m	$32/month or $168/year	Beginner	Click Here
Voice Over Acting – Instruction in Commercials, Animation & More	Voice acting in commercials and animation, recording your voice	4h 44m	$100	Beginner	Click Here
Voice-Over for Video and Animation	Voice acting from actor’s and producer’s POV; recording your voice for personal projects; technical side of voiceover	1h 30m	$30/month or $240/year	All levels	Click Here
How I Booked 8 Acting Roles On Major TV Shows in a Year	How film/TV casting process works; how to audition; how to market yourself	2h 0m	$40	Beginner or Intermediate	Click Here
How To Book Acting Jobs	How to approach scripts and audition successfully	3h 10m	$90	All levels	Click Here
A Comprehensive Guide to Child Acting	Child acting; auditioning, business side of acting	7h 49m	$20	Beginner or Intermediate	Click Here
Method Acting For Sane Actors	Method acting, developing and understanding your characters	1h 14m	$30	All levels	Click Here
Shakespeare Unlocked: Learn Classical Acting	Stage acting, Shakespeare acting	3h 35m	$95	All levels	Click Here

The 13 Best Online Acting Courses 2024

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1. Acting 101 for Adults

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Why we like it

Do you want to act in movies, TV, or commercials but don’t know how to get into the industry? This course, taught by an instructor with 37 years of experience on both sides of the camera, will get you started.

Acting professionally can be an exciting and rewarding career, but if you’re new to the field, it can be overwhelming and hard to know where to begin. This course shows you how to get started as it covers how to prepare an acting resume, how to take a proper headshot of yourself, and how to deal with agents and managers. It teaches you how to break down characters and practice scene study. Finally, it discusses preparation for movie, TV and commercial auditions.

The instructor, Aaron Jackson, is an industry veteran with 37 years of experience acting, directing, casting and more. His experience is obvious throughout the course as he provides hours of valuable, candid and detailed teaching which is easy to follow. Overall, the class’s greatest selling point is that it shows you how to market yourself as an actor and get into the business.

The course’s only serious misstep is that it doesn’t provide all of the PDFs the instructor mentions. Throughout the course, Jackson refers to several PDFs, but only some of them are available.

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2. Samuel L. Jackson Teaches Acting

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Why we like it

The title says it all. One of the most well-known and accomplished actors of our time shares his secrets for auditioning, creating compelling and memorable characters, collaborating with directors, and more.

If you’ve watched many movies, you’ve almost certainly seen Samuel L. Jackson on screen at least a few times. He's one of the most prolific actors working today with a career that’s lasted for more than four decades across film, TV, video games and more. In this course, he’ll show you how to convincingly bring your characters to life on screen.

Several of the videos in this course depict student sessions in which Jackson teaches his technique to a group of aspiring actors. These videos allow you to see Jackson’s lessons in action as the students try out his methods. In addition to teaching you to improve your acting skills, Jackson covers auditioning and forming great professional relationships with directors so you can bring out your best performance.

The best part of the course is definitely Jackson himself. He teaches his lessons clearly and with the honesty of a professional wanting to pass on his skills. He frequently references his personal experiences from his many years in Hollywood and what he’s learned from them.

If this course has any drawbacks, it’s that it doesn’t cover stage acting very well. Most of Jackson’s acting experience lies in movies and television, and while many of his lessons could apply to stage acting as well, other courses cover that area in greater depth.

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3. 10 Hour Acting Masterclass

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Why we like it

This course offers a well-rounded view of the art of acting, providing instruction on how to improve your acting ability and tips for marketing yourself as an actor and developing a strong work ethic.

If you’re new to acting or looking for simple, practical advice you can use to enhance your skills, this is the course for you. The instructor packs lots of information into the class, with lessons covering many essential aspects of acting in a beginner-friendly manner. It also touches on how you can boost your chances of getting acting jobs by getting a proper headshot of yourself and dealing with agents and casting directors.

The instructor is obviously inspired by what he’s teaching, and he teaches the lessons with enthusiasm. The best aspect of the course is that he focuses on giving acting advice that works without overcomplicating it.

As for drawbacks, the course’s greatest weakness is spelled out in its title. The course doesn’t entirely justify its 10-hour runtime as the instructor often repeats himself, and lessons can sometimes seem unfocused and overlong. The instructor still provides valuable information, but he can take a while to make his point.

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4. Helen Mirren Teaches Acting

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Why we like it

Acclaimed film and stage actress Helen Mirren teaches you her methods for delivering compelling, nuanced performances. If you want to learn how attention to the smallest details can help you give your best performance, give this course a look.

Few names command as much respect in acting circles as that of Helen Mirren. She’s received awards from the Oscars, Golden Globes, Emmys, and other organizations devoted to recognizing the finest in filmmaking, artistic and acting talent. In this course, she shares her advice for performing in film, TV and on stage.

Mirren begins by discussing her time as a theater actress, giving tips on how to perform on stage and read scripts from an actor’s perspective so you can develop a personal relationship to the text. She focuses specifically on William Shakespeare’s works for this section of the course.

Mirren then proceeds to cover film and TV acting, including how to research and prepare to play fictional characters and historical figures. Her attention to detail here is remarkable. She shows how even seemingly minor elements like costuming, makeup, hairstyling, props and set design can inform your portrayals. Finally, she tells you how to collaborate with writers and directors so you can make your voice heard on set and suggest script alterations and additions when you feel they’re needed.

The course’s only notable downside is that it doesn’t discuss voice-over acting. Granted, some of Mirren’s advice could help you with performances in video games or animation, but unlike stage and screen acting, voice-over acting isn’t discussed in detail.

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5. Voice-Over Masterclass – The Official DIY Guide to Voice Acting

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Why we like it

This course is a great starting point for anyone interested in pursuing a voice acting career. The instructor, a full-time professional voice actor, shows you the basics of performing, recording your voice and marketing yourself as a voice actor.

Voice actors may not always receive as much attention as their stage, film and TV acting counterparts, but their work is every bit as important, even if you don’t see them give their performance. Voice actors are needed for all sorts of productions, including video games, radio, commercials, audiobooks, and animated shows and films. This course shows you how to take your first steps into this fascinating field.

The instructor is a full-time voice actor, and he packs tons of critical information into the course’s short runtime. He shows you how to refine your voiceover skills, how to set up your recording room, what hardware and software you need and how to use it to record and edit your voice, and how to apply for voice acting roles. It’s obvious that the instructor loves what he does, and he makes the lessons easy to understand.

If the course has any negatives, it’s that it doesn’t offer much value for intermediate or advanced voice actors. The course is short and sweet, and it’s impressive that it provides as much information as it does.

However, the course’s brief runtime leaves little room for it to go into specifics on some topics, especially the final section on marketing yourself and finding voice acting gigs. This class is a great place for aspiring voice actors to start their journeys, but more experienced students should look elsewhere.

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6. Natalie Portman Teaches Acting

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Why we like it

Natalie Portman has been acting in films since childhood. In her class, she’ll teach you how to understand and embody your characters, work with your director, and approach acting from an empathetic perspective. Aspiring film actors, this one’s for you!

Natalie Portman is yet another instructor who needs no introduction. With dozens of acting credits to her name, it’s likely that you’ve seen at least one of her movies.

In this class, she’ll show you how to learn more about your characters and develop them properly, whether they’re fictional or real people. She also discusses how to be a team player on set and successfully collaborate with your director, costars and other crew members. She even reveals secrets for acting in front of a green screen in special effects-driven movies.

Portman is easily the course’s greatest selling point. As she points out, she never attended drama school, so she learned everything she knows about acting from working on film sets. Portman knows what it’s like being a beginning actor working on a professional production, so it’s no surprise that her advice comes across as honest and genuine.

You may have noticed that we’ve exclusively talked about how well this course helps you with film acting, and that’s because it’s the only topic the class covers. This emphasis is unsurprising given that almost all of Portman’s acting experience comes from her decades of starring in movies. However, if you’re looking for a course that covers stage or voice acting, this one isn’t for you.

Portman also spends most of the course teaching the artistic or performing side of acting, and only briefly discusses auditions near the end. Subjects such as dealing with managers and agents aren’t covered.

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7. Voice Over Acting – Instruction in Commercials, Animation & More

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Why we like it

This course is a great starting point for aspiring voice actors. It tells you how to improve your line readings, make your auditions stand out, and record your voice. It also provides exercises, tools and techniques to help you practice.

Taking your first step into a new field can be intimidating, but this course attempts to make it easy for new voice actors to improve their skills and do better in auditions. It covers how to approach scripts for voiceover roles in commercials and animation.

Additionally, the instructor shows you how you can record your voice with just a smartphone so you don’t have to buy expensive microphones or other high-end equipment unless you want to. He also gives you warmup exercises and a practice tool you can install on your smartphone and/or tablet so you can continue honing your skills over time.

It also helps that the instructor is clearly passionate about what he’s teaching. He’s great at encouraging you to have faith in your abilities and start auditioning for voice roles. If you have any questions or concerns, you can easily reach him since he frequently responds to reviews on the course page.

The course’s only notable downside is that it’s light on technical information aside from the sections where the instructor shows you how to make voice recordings. That said, this instructor has a second course that focuses more on the technical aspect of voiceover work, including how to make your own demo reels, but you’ll have to pay another fee to get access to it.

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8. How I Booked 8 Acting Roles on Major TV Shows in a Year

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Why we like it

In order to succeed as an actor, you have to know both how to act and how to get cast. This course covers the latter.

Whether you like it or not, you won’t have a successful career as an actor if you don’t know the business side of the job. Obviously, having acting talent is a must, but you also have to know how to put your best foot forward and show that talent to casting directors. That’s why this class focuses on how to effectively market yourself, audition and get cast for on-screen roles.

The instructor is a full-time TV actor, so he knows the business well and he teaches in a professional, easy-to-follow manner. He gets straight to the point and shows you how the casting process works from the casting director’s perspective. This information tells you what you can do to maximize your chances of getting an audition and, hopefully, being cast.

The instructor emphasizes working on the elements of marketing yourself that you can control rather than worrying about what other people control. He shows you how to make great headshots, write a professional resume and prepare a demo reel. These materials will help convince casting directors to give you an audition.

You’ll also learn how to get an agent who will try to find roles for you. Lastly, you’ll find out how to rock an audition and improve your odds of landing the part.

However, if you’re looking for a course that teaches you how to act, this isn’t it. This class shows you how to more easily get regular work as an actor while other courses on this list teach you how to develop your acting abilities.

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9. Voice-Over for Video and Animation

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Why we like it

Some voice acting courses focus exclusively on teaching you to improve your voiceover skills and audition for roles, but this one shows you how to succeed as a producer and a voice actor.

This course offers a concise yet informative look at the voiceover industry from the perspective of an actor and a producer. The instructor has experience in both areas and shows you how to collaborate successfully with your fellow professionals no matter what your role is.

On the acting side of voiceover, the course shows you how to learn more about your characters and the production you’re involved in so you can deliver the performance the producer needs. It also teaches you the form of shorthand many voice actors use to take notes on a script which give them specific direction on how to voice each line. Finally, you’ll find out how to deliver better line readings and make your own demo reel.

If you’re interested in learning the producing side of the industry, you’ll be pleased to know that this class covers how to cast voice actors, set up and run a recording session, and direct the actors when needed. It even takes time to discuss technical aspects of voiceover work like organizing and backing up audio files. Plus, if you need to record lines for a personal project, you’ll learn how to make high-quality audio at home.

All that said, you won’t get much out of this class if you’re not interested in voice acting. You should consider other courses for instruction on stage and screen acting.

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10. How to Book Acting Jobs

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Why we like it

Succeeding as an actor depends on whether or not you can land acting jobs. That’s why this course shows you how to interpret scripts and do well in your auditions.

Auditions can be intimidating no matter how much acting experience you have. Luckily, this course is here to show you how to approach reading scripts and auditioning so you can improve your chances of landing roles.

The instructor has 15 specific guidelines for breaking down scripts and she discusses each one in detail before showing examples of her students using them to perform scenes. She also gives you exercises you can try in order to practice her teachings. Plus, the course comes with an ebook and cheat sheet, both of which cover the guidelines. You can refer to them as needed when reading a script or preparing for an audition. Between all of these resources, the course provides impressive value for your money.

Given that the instructor has so many guidelines to teach, the course is chock full of great advice. Thankfully, the instructor goes in-depth with her lessons while keeping them easy to understand. When you’re finished with the course, you’ll know how to properly approach scripts and rock in your auditions so you can get acting jobs more easily.

All that said, there are other aspects of getting roles that this course doesn’t discuss. For instance, the course doesn’t tell you how to prepare a headshot, resume or acting demo reel. Dealing with agents and managers isn’t covered either. This class does a great job helping you prepare for auditions, but you’ll need to look elsewhere to find instruction on other acting-related topics.

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11. A Comprehensive Guide to Child Acting

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Why we like it

Child actors have long been an important part of many film and TV productions, and this course shows aspiring young actors (and their parents) how they can take their first steps forward in their performing career.

Acting has never been an adults-only game. This fact has become even more apparent in recent years as popular shows like Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and others have shown the impressive skills that child actors can bring to a production.

However, it can be difficult to figure out where to start your acting journey if you’re an aspiring child actor or you’re a parent who wants to help their child land acting jobs. That’s where this course comes in.

The class shows children how they can improve their acting abilities and better embody their characters. It also discusses the audition process and how to prepare for them. Finally, it extensively covers the business side of acting, including how to deal with agents, managers and unions, as well as how to market yourself as an actor with headshots, resumes and websites.

The instructor has decades of experience in the filmmaking industry and started out as a child actor. Given his background, he knows how the industry works and he delivers the lessons in an engaging manner with plenty of personal anecdotes.

The course’s only real drawback is that its appeal is somewhat niche. While some of what the instructor teaches could apply to beginning adult performers, the focus is on helping up-and-coming child stars. If you’re an adult wanting to break into acting, consider other courses instead.

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12. Method Acting for Sane Actors

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Why we like it

Method acting may seem like an excessive way of approaching the craft, but this course shows you that you don’t need to take extreme measures to convincingly bring your characters to life.

When many people hear the phrase “method acting”, they may think of performers who engage in months or years of research for their roles, never drop out of character during filming, and put forth an unbelievable amount of effort when portraying their roles. This course, however, shows that convincingly embodying a character doesn’t require such extreme measures.

Instead, this course teaches you to understand your characters quickly and use all the acting tools at your disposal to portray them authentically. The instructor has been a professional actor for decades, and it shows since he explains his techniques clearly. He also responds to student feedback in the course’s review section and offers to further explain any of his points via email.

The course’s greatest downside is its short length. While some students may appreciate that the class can be completed quickly, others may find that the course doesn’t elaborate on its points in sufficient detail. The instructor provides some examples of what he’s talking about, but not many. He also doesn’t act any scenes out to show you what his method looks like in action.

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13. Shakespeare Unlocked: Learn Classical Acting

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Why we like it

What list of acting courses would be complete without one focusing on Shakespeare? Whether you’re an aspiring performer who wants to learn stage acting or a film/TV actor open to trying something new, give this course a look.

Even people with no acting background whatsoever recognize William Shakespeare’s name. He’s one of the most influential playwrights in history, which is why countless actors are still reading, interpreting and performing his verses centuries later. That said, Shakespeare’s works can prove challenging both to new actors and actors who either haven’t performed on stage or haven’t tackled any of his plays before.

This course solves that problem by teaching you how to break down and understand Shakespeare’s writings. It also shows you how to control your body, breathing and your voice while performing so you can use all of the tools at your disposal to deliver your best performance.

The instructor deserves special mention. She has received both formal acting education, having attended theatre school and performed in a Shakespeare ensemble, and over a decade of onstage experience. She’s clearly passionate about teaching and performing Shakespeare’s works, and she makes them much less intimidating.

If this course comes with any caveats, it’s that it won’t do much for anybody who doesn’t want to learn stage acting or how to perform Shakespeare’s plays. As we mentioned earlier, it could appeal to a broad range of performers, but it’s not for everybody.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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