diff --git a/src/apify/_actor.py b/src/apify/_actor.py
index 150cf924..d854b800 100644
--- a/src/apify/_actor.py
+++ b/src/apify/_actor.py
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ def __init__(
         *,
         configure_logging: bool = True,
         exit_process: bool | None = None,
-        exit_code: int = 0,
+        exit_code: int | None = None,
         status_message: str | None = None,
         event_listeners_timeout: timedelta | None = EVENT_LISTENERS_TIMEOUT,
         cleanup_timeout: timedelta = timedelta(seconds=30),
@@ -140,15 +140,35 @@ def __init__(
             configure_logging: Whether to set up the default logging configuration.
             exit_process: Whether the Actor should call `sys.exit` when the context manager exits.
                 Defaults to True, except in IPython and Scrapy environments.
-            exit_code: The exit code the Actor should use when exiting.
-            status_message: Final status message to display upon Actor termination.
+            exit_code: Deprecated. Pass `exit_code` to `Actor.exit()` or `Actor.fail()`, or set `Actor.exit_code`
+                inside the context manager instead. Will be removed in version 5.0.0.
+            status_message: Deprecated. Pass `status_message` to `Actor.exit()` or `Actor.fail()`, or set
+                `Actor.status_message` inside the context manager instead. Will be removed in version 5.0.0.
             event_listeners_timeout: Maximum time to wait for Actor event listeners to complete before exiting.
             cleanup_timeout: Maximum time to wait for cleanup tasks to finish.
         """
+        if exit_code is not None:
+            warnings.warn(
+                'Passing `exit_code` to `Actor()` is deprecated and will be removed in version 5.0.0. '
+                'Pass it to `Actor.exit()` or `Actor.fail()`, or set `Actor.exit_code` inside the context manager '
+                'instead.',
+                DeprecationWarning,
+                stacklevel=3,
+            )
+
+        if status_message is not None:
+            warnings.warn(
+                'Passing `status_message` to `Actor()` is deprecated and will be removed in version 5.0.0. '
+                'Pass it to `Actor.exit()` or `Actor.fail()`, or set `Actor.status_message` inside the context '
+                'manager instead.',
+                DeprecationWarning,
+                stacklevel=3,
+            )
+
         self._configuration = configuration
         self._configure_logging = configure_logging
         self._exit_process = self._get_default_exit_process() if exit_process is None else exit_process
-        self._exit_code = exit_code
+        self._exit_code = 0 if exit_code is None else exit_code
         self._status_message = status_message
         self._event_listeners_timeout = event_listeners_timeout
         self._cleanup_timeout = cleanup_timeout
@@ -347,7 +367,7 @@ def __call__(
         *,
         configure_logging: bool = True,
         exit_process: bool | None = None,
-        exit_code: int = 0,
+        exit_code: int | None = None,
         event_listeners_timeout: timedelta | None = EVENT_LISTENERS_TIMEOUT,
         status_message: str | None = None,
         cleanup_timeout: timedelta = timedelta(seconds=30),
diff --git a/tests/unit/actor/test_actor_lifecycle.py b/tests/unit/actor/test_actor_lifecycle.py
index 19e4ea99..8966e333 100644
--- a/tests/unit/actor/test_actor_lifecycle.py
+++ b/tests/unit/actor/test_actor_lifecycle.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import json
 import logging
 import sys
+import warnings
 from datetime import UTC, datetime, timedelta
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 from unittest import mock
@@ -494,3 +495,40 @@ async def test_actor_sequential_contexts(*, first_with_call: bool, second_with_c
 
     # The mock should have been called twice, once in each context.
     assert mock.call_count == 2
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    'exit_code',
+    [
+        pytest.param(0, id='zero'),
+        pytest.param(42, id='non_zero'),
+    ],
+)
+def test_actor_constructor_exit_code_warns_deprecated(exit_code: int) -> None:
+    """Passing `exit_code` to `Actor()` emits a `DeprecationWarning` and points at the caller."""
+    with pytest.warns(DeprecationWarning, match='Passing `exit_code` to `Actor\\(\\)` is deprecated') as record:
+        actor = Actor(exit_code=exit_code)
+
+    assert len(record) == 1
+    assert record[0].filename == __file__
+    assert actor.exit_code == exit_code
+
+
+def test_actor_constructor_status_message_warns_deprecated() -> None:
+    """Passing `status_message` to `Actor()` emits a `DeprecationWarning` and points at the caller."""
+    with pytest.warns(DeprecationWarning, match='Passing `status_message` to `Actor\\(\\)` is deprecated') as record:
+        actor = Actor(status_message='Done')
+
+    assert len(record) == 1
+    assert record[0].filename == __file__
+    assert actor.status_message == 'Done'
+
+
+def test_actor_constructor_no_warning_without_deprecated_args() -> None:
+    """No deprecation warning is emitted when `exit_code` and `status_message` are omitted from `Actor()`."""
+    with warnings.catch_warnings():
+        warnings.simplefilter('error', DeprecationWarning)
+        actor = Actor()
+
+    assert actor.exit_code == 0
+    assert actor.status_message is None