Feathers getting actors despondent (8)
I believe the answer is:
downcast
'despondent' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'feathers getting actors' is the wordplay.
'feathers' becomes 'down' (down can mean bird feathers).
'getting' says to put letters next to each other.
'actors' becomes 'cast' (group of actors).
'down'+'cast'='DOWNCAST'
(Other definitions for downcast that I've seen before include "blue" , "Low in spirits" , "Dispirited, gloomy" , "Feeling despondent" , "Dejected and discouraged" .)