The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word VALENTINO
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
V
A
L
E
N
T
I
N
O
More clues leading to the result VALENTINO
- Film star holding fast in futile love
- Declaration of love with love for English actor
- Film star getting short romantic missive with love
- Old movie idol opposed to drink and to inn, oddly
- Old film star from Depression any number can love
- Old screen star in a lone TV hit
- Film star Glen books in online, initially
- Screen star in a period of abstention cutting alcohol
- Red perhaps worn by uncapped genius, old 10
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "actor" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case actor = valentino.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.