Narcissistic Tendencies Among Actors

Building on a two-dimensional reconceptualization of grandiose narcissism, we investigated how narcissistic admiration (the tendency toward agentic self-promotion) and rivalry (the tendency toward other derogation) are related to acting. Study 1 ( N = 583) showed that acting students scored higher on narcissistic admiration than students with other majors, but at the same time, the acting students scored lower on rivalry. In Study 2 ( N = 283), we compared improvisational theater actors with a comparison group and found the same pattern: Admiration was higher, but rivalry was lower among the actors (across both self-reports and informant reports). Effects persisted when we controlled for sex, age, self-esteem, extraversion, and agreeableness. Additional analyses indicated that actors who were high in admiration were primarily motivated by applause. Taken together, these findings indicate that acting is an activity that attracts individuals with a strong narcissistic desire for admiration but repulses people with an inclination toward narcissistic other derogation.