The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 plus 7 letter word LAURENCE OLIVIER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
L
A
U
R
E
N
C
E
O
L
I
V
I
E
R
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 = laurence olivier.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.