The man had to fix Alfa Romeo for American actress (5)
I believe the answer is:
heard
'for american actress' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'the man had to fix alfa romeo' is the wordplay.
'the man' becomes 'he' (he refers to a man).
'had' becomes 'd' (I've seen this in other clues).
'to fix' means one lot of letters goes inside another (inserted letters are fixed in place).
'alfa romeo' becomes 'ar' (this could be a standard abbreviation which I don't know about).
'he'+'d'='hed'
'hed' enclosing 'ar' is 'HEARD'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for heard that I've seen before include "Perceived by the ear" , "Tried" , "Examined" , "Was told of" , "Picked up by the ears?" .)