Pulling violently, like out of work actors may be, we hear (8)
I believe the answer is:
wresting
'pulling violently' is the definition.
(to wrest is to pull sharply)
'like out of work actors may be we hear' is the wordplay.
'like out of work actors may be' becomes 'resting' (out-of-work actors claim to be 'resting').
'we hear' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'resting' is a homophone of 'WRESTING'.
(Other definitions for wresting that I've seen before include "Extracting" , "Strewing (anag.)" .)