Old patriarch provides a support for an actor (7)
I believe the answer is:
abraham
'old patriarch' is the definition.
'abraham' can be an answer for 'patriarch' (I've seen this before). I'm not certain of the 'old' bit.
'a support for an actor' is the wordplay.
'a support' becomes 'abra' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'an actor' becomes 'ham' (ham is a kind of actor).
'abra'+'ham'='ABRAHAM'
'provides' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abraham that I've seen before include "Isaac's father" , "OT Hebrew patriarch" , "First ancestor of the nation of Israel" , "First patriarch and ancestor of the Hebrews" , "first in race" .)