diff --git a/doc/source/conf.py b/doc/source/conf.py
index f98e1ca5b..2b83481fe 100644
--- a/doc/source/conf.py
+++ b/doc/source/conf.py
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@ MOCK_MODULES = ["gym",
                 "ray.plasma",
                 "ray.core.generated.TaskInfo",
                 "ray.core.generated.TaskReply",
-                "ray.core.generated.ResultTableReply"]
+                "ray.core.generated.ResultTableReply",
+                "ray.core.generated.TaskExecutionDependencies"]
 for mod_name in MOCK_MODULES:
   sys.modules[mod_name] = mock.Mock()
 
diff --git a/python/ray/actor.py b/python/ray/actor.py
index 4df9a45b2..1ef5f095a 100644
--- a/python/ray/actor.py
+++ b/python/ray/actor.py
@@ -12,8 +12,7 @@ import ray.cloudpickle as pickle
 import ray.local_scheduler
 import ray.signature as signature
 import ray.worker
-from ray.utils import (binary_to_hex, FunctionProperties, random_string,
-                       release_gpus_in_use, select_local_scheduler, is_cython,
+from ray.utils import (FunctionProperties, random_string, is_cython,
                        push_error_to_driver)
 
 
@@ -47,6 +46,18 @@ def compute_actor_handle_id(actor_handle_id, num_forks):
     return ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(handle_id)
 
 
+def compute_actor_creation_function_id(class_id):
+    """Compute the function ID for an actor creation task.
+
+    Args:
+        class_id: The ID of the actor class.
+
+    Returns:
+        The function ID of the actor creation event.
+    """
+    return ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(class_id)
+
+
 def compute_actor_method_function_id(class_name, attr):
     """Get the function ID corresponding to an actor method.
 
@@ -222,12 +233,17 @@ def make_actor_method_executor(worker, method_name, method, actor_imported):
     return actor_method_executor
 
 
-def fetch_and_register_actor(actor_class_key, worker):
+def fetch_and_register_actor(actor_class_key, resources, worker):
     """Import an actor.
 
     This will be called by the worker's import thread when the worker receives
     the actor_class export, assuming that the worker is an actor for that
     class.
+
+    Args:
+        actor_class_key: The key in Redis to use to fetch the actor.
+        resources: The resources required for this actor's lifetime.
+        worker: The worker to use.
     """
     actor_id_str = worker.actor_id
     (driver_id, class_id, class_name,
@@ -258,7 +274,7 @@ def fetch_and_register_actor(actor_class_key, worker):
         raise Exception("The actor with name {} failed to be imported, and so "
                         "cannot execute this method".format(actor_name))
     # Register the actor method signatures.
-    register_actor_signatures(worker, driver_id, class_name,
+    register_actor_signatures(worker, driver_id, class_id, class_name,
                               actor_method_names, actor_method_num_return_vals)
     # Register the actor method executors.
     for actor_method_name in actor_method_names:
@@ -306,26 +322,25 @@ def fetch_and_register_actor(actor_class_key, worker):
             # because we currently do need the actor worker to submit new tasks
             # for the actor.
 
-        # Store some extra information that will be used when the actor exits
-        # to release GPU resources.
-        worker.driver_id = binary_to_hex(driver_id)
-        local_scheduler_id = worker.redis_client.hget(
-            b"Actor:" + actor_id_str, "local_scheduler_id")
-        worker.local_scheduler_id = binary_to_hex(local_scheduler_id)
 
-
-def register_actor_signatures(worker, driver_id, class_name,
+def register_actor_signatures(worker, driver_id, class_id, class_name,
                               actor_method_names,
-                              actor_method_num_return_vals):
+                              actor_method_num_return_vals,
+                              actor_creation_resources=None,
+                              actor_method_cpus=None):
     """Register an actor's method signatures in the worker.
 
     Args:
         worker: The worker to register the signatures on.
         driver_id: The ID of the driver that this actor is associated with.
-        actor_id: The ID of the actor.
+        class_id: The ID of the actor class.
+        class_name: The name of the actor class.
         actor_method_names: The names of the methods to register.
         actor_method_num_return_vals: A list of the number of return values for
             each of the actor's methods.
+        actor_creation_resources: The resources required by the actor creation
+            task.
+        actor_method_cpus: The number of CPUs required by each actor method.
     """
     assert len(actor_method_names) == len(actor_method_num_return_vals)
     for actor_method_name, num_return_vals in zip(
@@ -337,8 +352,19 @@ def register_actor_signatures(worker, driver_id, class_name,
                                                        actor_method_name).id()
         worker.function_properties[driver_id][function_id] = (
             # The extra return value is an actor dummy object.
+            # In the cases where actor_method_cpus is None, that value should
+            # never be used.
             FunctionProperties(num_return_vals=num_return_vals + 1,
-                               resources={"CPU": 1},
+                               resources={"CPU": actor_method_cpus},
+                               max_calls=0))
+
+    if actor_creation_resources is not None:
+        # Also register the actor creation task.
+        function_id = compute_actor_creation_function_id(class_id)
+        worker.function_properties[driver_id][function_id.id()] = (
+            # The extra return value is an actor dummy object.
+            FunctionProperties(num_return_vals=0 + 1,
+                               resources=actor_creation_resources,
                                max_calls=0))
 
 
@@ -393,7 +419,8 @@ def export_actor_class(class_id, Class, actor_method_names,
 
 
 def export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name, actor_method_names,
-                 actor_method_num_return_vals, resources, worker):
+                 actor_method_num_return_vals, actor_creation_resources,
+                 actor_method_cpus, worker):
     """Export an actor to redis.
 
     Args:
@@ -403,8 +430,9 @@ def export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name, actor_method_names,
         actor_method_names (list): A list of the names of this actor's methods.
         actor_method_num_return_vals: A list of the number of return values for
             each of the actor's methods.
-        resources: A dictionary mapping resource name to the quantity of that
-            resource required by the actor.
+        actor_creation_resources: A dictionary mapping resource name to the
+            quantity of that resource required by the actor.
+        actor_method_cpus: The number of CPUs required by actor methods.
     """
     ray.worker.check_main_thread()
     if worker.mode is None:
@@ -412,33 +440,15 @@ def export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name, actor_method_names,
                         "started. You can start Ray with 'ray.init()'.")
 
     driver_id = worker.task_driver_id.id()
-    register_actor_signatures(worker, driver_id, class_name,
-                              actor_method_names, actor_method_num_return_vals)
+    register_actor_signatures(
+        worker, driver_id, class_id, class_name, actor_method_names,
+        actor_method_num_return_vals,
+        actor_creation_resources=actor_creation_resources,
+        actor_method_cpus=actor_method_cpus)
 
-    # Select a local scheduler for the actor.
-    key = b"Actor:" + actor_id.id()
-    local_scheduler_id = select_local_scheduler(
-        worker.task_driver_id.id(), ray.global_state.local_schedulers(),
-        resources.get("GPU", 0), worker.redis_client)
-    assert local_scheduler_id is not None
-
-    # We must put the actor information in Redis before publishing the actor
-    # notification so that when the newly created actor attempts to fetch the
-    # information from Redis, it is already there.
-    driver_id = worker.task_driver_id.id()
-    worker.redis_client.hmset(key, {"class_id": class_id,
-                                    "driver_id": driver_id,
-                                    "local_scheduler_id": local_scheduler_id,
-                                    "num_gpus": resources.get("GPU", 0),
-                                    "removed": False})
-
-    # TODO(rkn): There is actually no guarantee that the local scheduler that
-    # we are publishing to has already subscribed to the actor_notifications
-    # channel. Therefore, this message may be missed and the workload will
-    # hang. This is a bug.
-    ray.utils.publish_actor_creation(actor_id.id(), driver_id,
-                                     local_scheduler_id, False,
-                                     worker.redis_client)
+    args = [class_id]
+    function_id = compute_actor_creation_function_id(class_id)
+    return worker.submit_task(function_id, args, actor_creation_id=actor_id)[0]
 
 
 def method(*args, **kwargs):
@@ -479,10 +489,16 @@ class ActorHandleWrapper(object):
     This is essentially just a dictionary, but it is used so that the recipient
     can tell that an argument is an ActorHandle.
     """
-    def __init__(self, actor_id, actor_handle_id, actor_cursor, actor_counter,
-                 actor_method_names, actor_method_num_return_vals,
-                 method_signatures, checkpoint_interval, class_name):
+    def __init__(self, actor_id, class_id, actor_handle_id, actor_cursor,
+                 actor_counter, actor_method_names,
+                 actor_method_num_return_vals, method_signatures,
+                 checkpoint_interval, class_name,
+                 actor_creation_dummy_object_id,
+                 actor_creation_resources, actor_method_cpus):
+        # TODO(rkn): Some of these fields are probably not necessary. We should
+        # strip out the unnecessary fields to keep actor handles lightweight.
         self.actor_id = actor_id
+        self.class_id = class_id
         self.actor_handle_id = actor_handle_id
         self.actor_cursor = actor_cursor
         self.actor_counter = actor_counter
@@ -493,6 +509,9 @@ class ActorHandleWrapper(object):
         self.method_signatures = method_signatures
         self.checkpoint_interval = checkpoint_interval
         self.class_name = class_name
+        self.actor_creation_dummy_object_id = actor_creation_dummy_object_id
+        self.actor_creation_resources = actor_creation_resources
+        self.actor_method_cpus = actor_method_cpus
 
 
 def wrap_actor_handle(actor_handle):
@@ -506,6 +525,7 @@ def wrap_actor_handle(actor_handle):
     """
     wrapper = ActorHandleWrapper(
         actor_handle._ray_actor_id,
+        actor_handle._ray_class_id,
         compute_actor_handle_id(actor_handle._ray_actor_handle_id,
                                 actor_handle._ray_actor_forks),
         actor_handle._ray_actor_cursor,
@@ -514,7 +534,10 @@ def wrap_actor_handle(actor_handle):
         actor_handle._ray_actor_method_num_return_vals,
         actor_handle._ray_method_signatures,
         actor_handle._ray_checkpoint_interval,
-        actor_handle._ray_class_name)
+        actor_handle._ray_class_name,
+        actor_handle._ray_actor_creation_dummy_object_id,
+        actor_handle._ray_actor_creation_resources,
+        actor_handle._ray_actor_method_cpus)
     actor_handle._ray_actor_forks += 1
     return wrapper
 
@@ -530,21 +553,27 @@ def unwrap_actor_handle(worker, wrapper):
         The unwrapped ActorHandle instance.
     """
     driver_id = worker.task_driver_id.id()
-    register_actor_signatures(worker, driver_id, wrapper.class_name,
-                              wrapper.actor_method_names,
-                              wrapper.actor_method_num_return_vals)
+    register_actor_signatures(worker, driver_id, wrapper.class_id,
+                              wrapper.class_name, wrapper.actor_method_names,
+                              wrapper.actor_method_num_return_vals,
+                              wrapper.actor_creation_resources,
+                              wrapper.actor_method_cpus)
 
     actor_handle_class = make_actor_handle_class(wrapper.class_name)
     actor_object = actor_handle_class.__new__(actor_handle_class)
     actor_object._manual_init(
         wrapper.actor_id,
+        wrapper.class_id,
         wrapper.actor_handle_id,
         wrapper.actor_cursor,
         wrapper.actor_counter,
         wrapper.actor_method_names,
         wrapper.actor_method_num_return_vals,
         wrapper.method_signatures,
-        wrapper.checkpoint_interval)
+        wrapper.checkpoint_interval,
+        wrapper.actor_creation_dummy_object_id,
+        wrapper.actor_creation_resources,
+        wrapper.actor_method_cpus)
     return actor_object
 
 
@@ -569,11 +598,13 @@ def make_actor_handle_class(class_name):
             raise NotImplementedError("The classmethod remote() can only be "
                                       "called on the original Class.")
 
-        def _manual_init(self, actor_id, actor_handle_id, actor_cursor,
-                         actor_counter, actor_method_names,
+        def _manual_init(self, actor_id, class_id, actor_handle_id,
+                         actor_cursor, actor_counter, actor_method_names,
                          actor_method_num_return_vals, method_signatures,
-                         checkpoint_interval):
+                         checkpoint_interval, actor_creation_dummy_object_id,
+                         actor_creation_resources, actor_method_cpus):
             self._ray_actor_id = actor_id
+            self._ray_class_id = class_id
             self._ray_actor_handle_id = actor_handle_id
             self._ray_actor_cursor = actor_cursor
             self._ray_actor_counter = actor_counter
@@ -584,6 +615,10 @@ def make_actor_handle_class(class_name):
             self._ray_checkpoint_interval = checkpoint_interval
             self._ray_class_name = class_name
             self._ray_actor_forks = 0
+            self._ray_actor_creation_dummy_object_id = (
+                actor_creation_dummy_object_id)
+            self._ray_actor_creation_resources = actor_creation_resources
+            self._ray_actor_method_cpus = actor_method_cpus
 
         def _actor_method_call(self, method_name, args=None, kwargs=None,
                                dependency=None):
@@ -640,6 +675,8 @@ def make_actor_handle_class(class_name):
                 actor_handle_id=self._ray_actor_handle_id,
                 actor_counter=self._ray_actor_counter,
                 is_actor_checkpoint_method=is_actor_checkpoint_method,
+                actor_creation_dummy_object_id=(
+                    self._ray_actor_creation_dummy_object_id),
                 execution_dependencies=execution_dependencies)
             # Update the actor counter and cursor to reflect the most recent
             # invocation.
@@ -691,13 +728,16 @@ def make_actor_handle_class(class_name):
             # with Class.remote().
             if (ray.worker.global_worker.connected and
                     self._ray_actor_handle_id.id() == ray.worker.NIL_ACTOR_ID):
+                # TODO(rkn): Should we be passing in the actor cursor as a
+                # dependency here?
                 self._actor_method_call("__ray_terminate__",
                                         args=[self._ray_actor_id.id()])
 
     return ActorHandle
 
 
-def actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, resources, checkpoint_interval):
+def actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, actor_creation_resources,
+                            checkpoint_interval, actor_method_cpus):
     class_name = Class.__name__.encode("ascii")
     actor_handle_class = make_actor_handle_class(class_name)
     exported = []
@@ -764,22 +804,28 @@ def actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, resources, checkpoint_interval):
                                        checkpoint_interval,
                                        ray.worker.global_worker)
                     exported.append(0)
-                export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name,
-                             actor_method_names, actor_method_num_return_vals,
-                             resources, ray.worker.global_worker)
+                actor_cursor = export_actor(actor_id, class_id, class_name,
+                                            actor_method_names,
+                                            actor_method_num_return_vals,
+                                            actor_creation_resources,
+                                            actor_method_cpus,
+                                            ray.worker.global_worker)
 
             # Instantiate the actor handle.
             actor_object = cls.__new__(cls)
-            actor_object._manual_init(actor_id, actor_handle_id, actor_cursor,
-                                      actor_counter, actor_method_names,
+            actor_object._manual_init(actor_id, class_id, actor_handle_id,
+                                      actor_cursor, actor_counter,
+                                      actor_method_names,
                                       actor_method_num_return_vals,
-                                      method_signatures,
-                                      checkpoint_interval)
+                                      method_signatures, checkpoint_interval,
+                                      actor_cursor, actor_creation_resources,
+                                      actor_method_cpus)
 
             # Call __init__ as a remote function.
             if "__init__" in actor_object._ray_actor_method_names:
                 actor_object._actor_method_call("__init__", args=args,
-                                                kwargs=kwargs)
+                                                kwargs=kwargs,
+                                                dependency=actor_cursor)
             else:
                 print("WARNING: this object has no __init__ method.")
 
@@ -788,12 +834,7 @@ def actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, resources, checkpoint_interval):
     return ActorHandle
 
 
-def make_actor(cls, resources, checkpoint_interval):
-    # Print warning if this actor requires custom resources.
-    for resource_name in resources:
-        if resource_name not in ["CPU", "GPU"]:
-            raise Exception("Currently only GPU resources can be used for "
-                            "actor placement.")
+def make_actor(cls, resources, checkpoint_interval, actor_method_cpus):
     if checkpoint_interval == 0:
         raise Exception("checkpoint_interval must be greater than 0.")
 
@@ -806,13 +847,6 @@ def make_actor(cls, resources, checkpoint_interval):
             # remove the actor key from Redis here.
             ray.worker.global_worker.redis_client.hset(b"Actor:" + actor_id,
                                                        "removed", True)
-            # Release the GPUs that this worker was using.
-            if len(ray.get_gpu_ids()) > 0:
-                release_gpus_in_use(
-                    ray.worker.global_worker.driver_id,
-                    ray.worker.global_worker.local_scheduler_id,
-                    ray.get_gpu_ids(),
-                    ray.worker.global_worker.redis_client)
             # Disconnect the worker from the local scheduler. The point of this
             # is so that when the worker kills itself below, the local
             # scheduler won't push an error message to the driver.
@@ -899,7 +933,7 @@ def make_actor(cls, resources, checkpoint_interval):
     class_id = random_actor_class_id()
 
     return actor_handle_from_class(Class, class_id, resources,
-                                   checkpoint_interval)
+                                   checkpoint_interval, actor_method_cpus)
 
 
 ray.worker.global_worker.fetch_and_register_actor = fetch_and_register_actor
diff --git a/python/ray/experimental/state.py b/python/ray/experimental/state.py
index 3af005ef1..ce887245f 100644
--- a/python/ray/experimental/state.py
+++ b/python/ray/experimental/state.py
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ from ray.utils import (decode, binary_to_object_id, binary_to_hex,
 # Import flatbuffer bindings.
 from ray.core.generated.TaskReply import TaskReply
 from ray.core.generated.ResultTableReply import ResultTableReply
+from ray.core.generated.TaskExecutionDependencies import \
+    TaskExecutionDependencies
 
 # These prefixes must be kept up-to-date with the definitions in
 # ray_redis_module.cc.
@@ -262,17 +264,35 @@ class GlobalState(object):
             "ParentTaskID": binary_to_hex(task_spec.parent_task_id().id()),
             "ParentCounter": task_spec.parent_counter(),
             "ActorID": binary_to_hex(task_spec.actor_id().id()),
+            "ActorCreationID":
+                binary_to_hex(task_spec.actor_creation_id().id()),
+            "ActorCreationDummyObjectID":
+                binary_to_hex(task_spec.actor_creation_dummy_object_id().id()),
             "ActorCounter": task_spec.actor_counter(),
             "FunctionID": binary_to_hex(task_spec.function_id().id()),
             "Args": task_spec.arguments(),
             "ReturnObjectIDs": task_spec.returns(),
             "RequiredResources": task_spec.required_resources()}
 
+        execution_dependencies_message = (
+            TaskExecutionDependencies.GetRootAsTaskExecutionDependencies(
+                task_table_message.ExecutionDependencies(), 0))
+        execution_dependencies = [
+            ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(
+                execution_dependencies_message.ExecutionDependencies(i))
+            for i in range(
+                execution_dependencies_message.ExecutionDependenciesLength())]
+
+        # TODO(rkn): The return fields ExecutionDependenciesString and
+        # ExecutionDependencies are redundant, so we should remove
+        # ExecutionDependencies. However, it is currently used in monitor.py.
+
         return {"State": task_table_message.State(),
                 "LocalSchedulerID": binary_to_hex(
                     task_table_message.LocalSchedulerId()),
                 "ExecutionDependenciesString":
                     task_table_message.ExecutionDependencies(),
+                "ExecutionDependencies": execution_dependencies,
                 "SpillbackCount":
                     task_table_message.SpillbackCount(),
                 "TaskSpec": task_spec_info}
diff --git a/python/ray/global_scheduler/test/test.py b/python/ray/global_scheduler/test/test.py
index 4151e51f6..7c9cd4ce9 100644
--- a/python/ray/global_scheduler/test/test.py
+++ b/python/ray/global_scheduler/test/test.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ ID_SIZE = 20
 NUM_CLUSTER_NODES = 2
 
 NIL_WORKER_ID = 20 * b"\xff"
+NIL_OBJECT_ID = 20 * b"\xff"
 NIL_ACTOR_ID = 20 * b"\xff"
 
 # These constants are an implementation detail of ray_redis_module.cc, so this
@@ -101,7 +102,7 @@ class TestGlobalScheduler(unittest.TestCase):
                 static_resources={"CPU": 10})
             # Connect to the scheduler.
             local_scheduler_client = local_scheduler.LocalSchedulerClient(
-                local_scheduler_name, NIL_WORKER_ID, NIL_ACTOR_ID, False, 0)
+                local_scheduler_name, NIL_WORKER_ID, False)
             self.local_scheduler_clients.append(local_scheduler_client)
             self.local_scheduler_pids.append(p4)
 
@@ -170,6 +171,8 @@ class TestGlobalScheduler(unittest.TestCase):
         task2 = local_scheduler.Task(random_driver_id(), random_function_id(),
                                      [random_object_id()], 0, random_task_id(),
                                      0, local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
+                                     local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_OBJECT_ID),
+                                     local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
                                      local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
                                      0, 0, [], {"CPU": 1, "GPU": 2})
         self.assertEqual(task2.required_resources(), {"CPU": 1, "GPU": 2})
diff --git a/python/ray/local_scheduler/test/test.py b/python/ray/local_scheduler/test/test.py
index d098b1dea..89404d843 100644
--- a/python/ray/local_scheduler/test/test.py
+++ b/python/ray/local_scheduler/test/test.py
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ USE_VALGRIND = False
 ID_SIZE = 20
 
 NIL_WORKER_ID = 20 * b"\xff"
-NIL_ACTOR_ID = 20 * b"\xff"
 
 
 def random_object_id():
@@ -48,7 +47,7 @@ class TestLocalSchedulerClient(unittest.TestCase):
             plasma_store_name, use_valgrind=USE_VALGRIND)
         # Connect to the scheduler.
         self.local_scheduler_client = local_scheduler.LocalSchedulerClient(
-            scheduler_name, NIL_WORKER_ID, NIL_ACTOR_ID, False, 0)
+            scheduler_name, NIL_WORKER_ID, False)
 
     def tearDown(self):
         # Check that the processes are still alive.
diff --git a/python/ray/monitor.py b/python/ray/monitor.py
index 0afeffd1e..2d78688d7 100644
--- a/python/ray/monitor.py
+++ b/python/ray/monitor.py
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@ from __future__ import print_function
 
 import argparse
 import binascii
-import json
 import logging
 import os
 import time
@@ -115,43 +114,6 @@ class Monitor(object):
         self.subscribe_client.subscribe(channel)
         self.subscribed[channel] = False
 
-    def cleanup_actors(self):
-        """Recreate any live actors whose corresponding local scheduler died.
-
-        For any live actor whose local scheduler just died, we choose a new
-        local scheduler and broadcast a notification to create that actor.
-        """
-        actor_info = self.state.actors()
-        for actor_id, info in actor_info.items():
-            if (not info["removed"] and
-                    info["local_scheduler_id"] in self.dead_local_schedulers):
-                # Choose a new local scheduler to run the actor.
-                local_scheduler_id = ray.utils.select_local_scheduler(
-                    info["driver_id"],
-                    self.state.local_schedulers(), info["num_gpus"],
-                    self.redis)
-                import sys
-                sys.stdout.flush()
-                # The new local scheduler should not be the same as the old
-                # local scheduler. TODO(rkn): This should not be an assert, it
-                # should be something more benign.
-                assert (binary_to_hex(local_scheduler_id) !=
-                        info["local_scheduler_id"])
-                # Announce to all of the local schedulers that the actor should
-                # be recreated on this new local scheduler.
-                ray.utils.publish_actor_creation(
-                    hex_to_binary(actor_id),
-                    hex_to_binary(info["driver_id"]), local_scheduler_id, True,
-                    self.redis)
-                log.info("Actor {} for driver {} was on dead local scheduler "
-                         "{}. It is being recreated on local scheduler {}"
-                         .format(actor_id, info["driver_id"],
-                                 info["local_scheduler_id"],
-                                 binary_to_hex(local_scheduler_id)))
-                # Update the actor info in Redis.
-                self.redis.hset(b"Actor:" + hex_to_binary(actor_id),
-                                "local_scheduler_id", local_scheduler_id)
-
     def cleanup_task_table(self):
         """Clean up global state for failed local schedulers.
 
@@ -473,58 +435,8 @@ class Monitor(object):
         log.info(
             "Driver {} has been removed.".format(binary_to_hex(driver_id)))
 
-        # Get a list of the local schedulers that have not been deleted.
-        local_schedulers = ray.global_state.local_schedulers()
-
         self._clean_up_entries_for_driver(driver_id)
 
-        # Release any GPU resources that have been reserved for this driver in
-        # Redis.
-        for local_scheduler in local_schedulers:
-            if local_scheduler.get("GPU", 0) > 0:
-                local_scheduler_id = local_scheduler["DBClientID"]
-
-                num_gpus_returned = 0
-
-                # Perform a transaction to return the GPUs.
-                with self.redis.pipeline() as pipe:
-                    while True:
-                        try:
-                            # If this key is changed before the transaction
-                            # below (the multi/exec block), then the
-                            # transaction will not take place.
-                            pipe.watch(local_scheduler_id)
-
-                            result = pipe.hget(local_scheduler_id,
-                                               "gpus_in_use")
-                            gpus_in_use = (dict() if result is None else
-                                           json.loads(result.decode("ascii")))
-
-                            driver_id_hex = binary_to_hex(driver_id)
-                            if driver_id_hex in gpus_in_use:
-                                num_gpus_returned = gpus_in_use.pop(
-                                    driver_id_hex)
-
-                            pipe.multi()
-
-                            pipe.hset(local_scheduler_id, "gpus_in_use",
-                                      json.dumps(gpus_in_use))
-
-                            pipe.execute()
-                            # If a WatchError is not raise, then the operations
-                            # should have gone through atomically.
-                            break
-                        except redis.WatchError:
-                            # Another client must have changed the watched key
-                            # between the time we started WATCHing it and the
-                            # pipeline's execution. We should just retry.
-                            continue
-
-                log.info("Driver {} is returning GPU IDs {} to local "
-                         "scheduler {}.".format(
-                             binary_to_hex(driver_id), num_gpus_returned,
-                             local_scheduler_id))
-
     def process_messages(self):
         """Process all messages ready in the subscription channels.
 
@@ -592,7 +504,6 @@ class Monitor(object):
         # state in the state tables.
         if len(self.dead_local_schedulers) > 0:
             self.cleanup_task_table()
-            self.cleanup_actors()
         if len(self.dead_plasma_managers) > 0:
             self.cleanup_object_table()
         log.debug("{} dead local schedulers, {} plasma managers total, {} "
@@ -617,7 +528,6 @@ class Monitor(object):
             # dead in this round, clean up the associated state.
             if len(self.dead_local_schedulers) > num_dead_local_schedulers:
                 self.cleanup_task_table()
-                self.cleanup_actors()
             if len(self.dead_plasma_managers) > num_dead_plasma_managers:
                 self.cleanup_object_table()
 
diff --git a/python/ray/tune/registry.py b/python/ray/tune/registry.py
index 71b532677..07bf06a77 100644
--- a/python/ray/tune/registry.py
+++ b/python/ray/tune/registry.py
@@ -7,9 +7,7 @@ from types import FunctionType
 import numpy as np
 
 import ray
-from ray.tune import TuneError
 from ray.local_scheduler import ObjectID
-from ray.tune.trainable import Trainable, wrap_function
 
 TRAINABLE_CLASS = "trainable_class"
 ENV_CREATOR = "env_creator"
@@ -29,6 +27,8 @@ def register_trainable(name, trainable):
             automatically converted into a class during registration.
     """
 
+    from ray.tune.trainable import Trainable, wrap_function
+
     if isinstance(trainable, FunctionType):
         trainable = wrap_function(trainable)
     if not issubclass(trainable, Trainable):
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ class _Registry(object):
 
     def register(self, category, key, value):
         if category not in KNOWN_CATEGORIES:
+            from ray.tune import TuneError
             raise TuneError("Unknown category {} not among {}".format(
                 category, KNOWN_CATEGORIES))
         self._all_objects[(category, key)] = value
diff --git a/python/ray/tune/trial.py b/python/ray/tune/trial.py
index a5a2e0a78..caa920e9a 100644
--- a/python/ray/tune/trial.py
+++ b/python/ray/tune/trial.py
@@ -12,7 +12,10 @@ import os
 
 from ray.tune import TuneError
 from ray.tune.logger import NoopLogger, UnifiedLogger, pretty_print
-from ray.tune.registry import _default_registry, get_registry, TRAINABLE_CLASS
+# NOTE(rkn): We import ray.tune.registry here instead of importing the names we
+# need because there are cyclic imports that may cause specific names to not
+# have been defined yet. See https://github.com/ray-project/ray/issues/1716.
+import ray.tune.registry
 from ray.tune.result import TrainingResult, DEFAULT_RESULTS_DIR
 from ray.utils import random_string, binary_to_hex
 
@@ -85,8 +88,8 @@ class Trial(object):
         in ray.tune.config_parser.
         """
 
-        if not _default_registry.contains(
-                TRAINABLE_CLASS, trainable_name):
+        if not ray.tune.registry._default_registry.contains(
+                ray.tune.registry.TRAINABLE_CLASS, trainable_name):
             raise TuneError("Unknown trainable: " + trainable_name)
 
         if stopping_criterion:
@@ -341,8 +344,8 @@ class Trial(object):
 
     def _setup_runner(self):
         self.status = Trial.RUNNING
-        trainable_cls = get_registry().get(
-            TRAINABLE_CLASS, self.trainable_name)
+        trainable_cls = ray.tune.registry.get_registry().get(
+            ray.tune.registry.TRAINABLE_CLASS, self.trainable_name)
         cls = ray.remote(
             num_cpus=self.resources.driver_cpu_limit,
             num_gpus=self.resources.driver_gpu_limit)(trainable_cls)
@@ -367,7 +370,7 @@ class Trial(object):
         # Logging for trials is handled centrally by TrialRunner, so
         # configure the remote runner to use a noop-logger.
         self.runner = cls.remote(
-            config=self.config, registry=get_registry(),
+            config=self.config, registry=ray.tune.registry.get_registry(),
             logger_creator=logger_creator)
 
     def set_verbose(self, verbose):
diff --git a/python/ray/utils.py b/python/ray/utils.py
index b29e80b6d..4b9a85a13 100644
--- a/python/ray/utils.py
+++ b/python/ray/utils.py
@@ -4,10 +4,8 @@ from __future__ import print_function
 
 import binascii
 import collections
-import json
 import numpy as np
 import os
-import redis
 import sys
 
 import ray.local_scheduler
@@ -162,192 +160,3 @@ def set_cuda_visible_devices(gpu_ids):
         gpu_ids: This is a list of integers representing GPU IDs.
     """
     os.environ["CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES"] = ",".join([str(i) for i in gpu_ids])
-
-
-def attempt_to_reserve_gpus(num_gpus, driver_id, local_scheduler,
-                            redis_client):
-    """Attempt to acquire GPUs on a particular local scheduler for an actor.
-
-    Args:
-        num_gpus: The number of GPUs to acquire.
-        driver_id: The ID of the driver responsible for creating the actor.
-        local_scheduler: Information about the local scheduler.
-        redis_client: The redis client to use for interacting with Redis.
-
-    Returns:
-        True if the GPUs were successfully reserved and false otherwise.
-    """
-    assert num_gpus != 0
-    local_scheduler_id = local_scheduler["DBClientID"]
-    local_scheduler_total_gpus = int(local_scheduler["GPU"])
-
-    success = False
-
-    # Attempt to acquire GPU IDs atomically.
-    with redis_client.pipeline() as pipe:
-        while True:
-            try:
-                # If this key is changed before the transaction below (the
-                # multi/exec block), then the transaction will not take place.
-                pipe.watch(local_scheduler_id)
-
-                # Figure out which GPUs are currently in use.
-                result = redis_client.hget(local_scheduler_id, "gpus_in_use")
-                gpus_in_use = dict() if result is None else json.loads(
-                    result.decode("ascii"))
-                num_gpus_in_use = 0
-                for key in gpus_in_use:
-                    num_gpus_in_use += gpus_in_use[key]
-                assert num_gpus_in_use <= local_scheduler_total_gpus
-
-                pipe.multi()
-
-                if local_scheduler_total_gpus - num_gpus_in_use >= num_gpus:
-                    # There are enough available GPUs, so try to reserve some.
-                    # We use the hex driver ID in hex as a dictionary key so
-                    # that the dictionary is JSON serializable.
-                    driver_id_hex = binary_to_hex(driver_id)
-                    if driver_id_hex not in gpus_in_use:
-                        gpus_in_use[driver_id_hex] = 0
-                    gpus_in_use[driver_id_hex] += num_gpus
-
-                    # Stick the updated GPU IDs back in Redis
-                    pipe.hset(local_scheduler_id, "gpus_in_use",
-                              json.dumps(gpus_in_use))
-                    success = True
-
-                pipe.execute()
-                # If a WatchError is not raised, then the operations should
-                # have gone through atomically.
-                break
-            except redis.WatchError:
-                # Another client must have changed the watched key between the
-                # time we started WATCHing it and the pipeline's execution. We
-                # should just retry.
-                success = False
-                continue
-
-    return success
-
-
-def release_gpus_in_use(driver_id, local_scheduler_id, gpu_ids, redis_client):
-    """Release the GPUs that a given worker was using.
-
-    Note that this does not affect the local scheduler's bookkeeping. It only
-    affects the GPU allocations which are recorded in the primary Redis shard,
-    which are redundant with the local scheduler bookkeeping.
-
-    Args:
-        driver_id: The ID of the driver that is releasing some GPUs.
-        local_scheduler_id: The ID of the local scheduler that owns the GPUs
-            being released.
-        gpu_ids: The IDs of the GPUs being released.
-        redis_client: A client for the primary Redis shard.
-    """
-    # Attempt to release GPU IDs atomically.
-    with redis_client.pipeline() as pipe:
-        while True:
-            try:
-                # If this key is changed before the transaction below (the
-                # multi/exec block), then the transaction will not take place.
-                pipe.watch(local_scheduler_id)
-
-                # Figure out which GPUs are currently in use.
-                result = redis_client.hget(local_scheduler_id, "gpus_in_use")
-                gpus_in_use = dict() if result is None else json.loads(
-                    result.decode("ascii"))
-
-                assert driver_id in gpus_in_use
-                assert gpus_in_use[driver_id] >= len(gpu_ids)
-
-                gpus_in_use[driver_id] -= len(gpu_ids)
-
-                pipe.multi()
-
-                pipe.hset(local_scheduler_id, "gpus_in_use",
-                          json.dumps(gpus_in_use))
-
-                pipe.execute()
-                # If a WatchError is not raised, then the operations should
-                # have gone through atomically.
-                break
-            except redis.WatchError:
-                # Another client must have changed the watched key between the
-                # time we started WATCHing it and the pipeline's execution. We
-                # should just retry.
-                continue
-
-
-def select_local_scheduler(driver_id, local_schedulers, num_gpus,
-                           redis_client):
-    """Select a local scheduler to assign this actor to.
-
-    Args:
-        driver_id: The ID of the driver who the actor is for.
-        local_schedulers: A list of dictionaries of information about the local
-            schedulers.
-        num_gpus (int): The number of GPUs that must be reserved for this
-            actor.
-        redis_client: The Redis client to use for interacting with Redis.
-
-    Returns:
-        The ID of the local scheduler that has been chosen.
-
-    Raises:
-        Exception: An exception is raised if no local scheduler can be found
-            with sufficient resources.
-    """
-    local_scheduler_id = None
-    # Loop through all of the local schedulers in a random order.
-    local_schedulers = np.random.permutation(local_schedulers)
-    for local_scheduler in local_schedulers:
-        if local_scheduler["CPU"] < 1:
-            continue
-        if local_scheduler.get("GPU", 0) < num_gpus:
-            continue
-        if num_gpus == 0:
-            local_scheduler_id = hex_to_binary(local_scheduler["DBClientID"])
-            break
-        else:
-            # Try to reserve enough GPUs on this local scheduler.
-            success = attempt_to_reserve_gpus(num_gpus, driver_id,
-                                              local_scheduler, redis_client)
-            if success:
-                local_scheduler_id = hex_to_binary(
-                                         local_scheduler["DBClientID"])
-                break
-
-    if local_scheduler_id is None:
-        raise Exception("Could not find a node with enough GPUs or other "
-                        "resources to create this actor. The local scheduler "
-                        "information is {}.".format(local_schedulers))
-
-    return local_scheduler_id
-
-
-def publish_actor_creation(actor_id, driver_id, local_scheduler_id,
-                           reconstruct, redis_client):
-    """Publish a notification that an actor should be created.
-
-    This broadcast will be received by all of the local schedulers. The local
-    scheduler whose ID is being broadcast will create the actor. Any other
-    local schedulers that have already created the actor will kill it. All
-    local schedulers will update their internal data structures to redirect
-    tasks for this actor to the new local scheduler.
-
-    Args:
-        actor_id: The ID of the actor involved.
-        driver_id: The ID of the driver responsible for the actor.
-        local_scheduler_id: The ID of the local scheduler that is suposed to
-            create the actor.
-        reconstruct: True if the actor should be created in "reconstruct" mode.
-        redis_client: The client used to interact with Redis.
-    """
-    reconstruct_bit = b"1" if reconstruct else b"0"
-    # Really we should encode this message as a flatbuffer object. However,
-    # we're having trouble getting that to work. It almost works, but in Python
-    # 2.7, builder.CreateString fails on byte strings that contain characters
-    # outside range(128).
-    redis_client.publish("actor_notifications",
-                         actor_id + driver_id + local_scheduler_id +
-                         reconstruct_bit)
diff --git a/python/ray/worker.py b/python/ray/worker.py
index 49c9db09f..16f77d4b6 100644
--- a/python/ray/worker.py
+++ b/python/ray/worker.py
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ NIL_ID = 20 * b"\xff"
 NIL_LOCAL_SCHEDULER_ID = NIL_ID
 NIL_FUNCTION_ID = NIL_ID
 NIL_ACTOR_ID = NIL_ID
+NIL_ACTOR_HANDLE_ID = NIL_ID
 
 # This must be kept in sync with the `error_types` array in
 # common/state/error_table.h.
@@ -58,6 +59,19 @@ PUT_RECONSTRUCTION_ERROR_TYPE = b"put_reconstruction"
 # This must be kept in sync with the `scheduling_state` enum in common/task.h.
 TASK_STATUS_RUNNING = 8
 
+# Default resource requirements for remote functions.
+DEFAULT_REMOTE_FUNCTION_CPUS = 1
+DEFAULT_REMOTE_FUNCTION_GPUS = 0
+# Default resource requirements for actors when no resource requirements are
+# specified.
+DEFAULT_ACTOR_METHOD_CPUS_SIMPLE_CASE = 1
+DEFAULT_ACTOR_CREATION_CPUS_SIMPLE_CASE = 0
+# Default resource requirements for actors when some resource requirements are
+# specified.
+DEFAULT_ACTOR_METHOD_CPUS_SPECIFIED_CASE = 0
+DEFAULT_ACTOR_CREATION_CPUS_SPECIFIED_CASE = 1
+DEFAULT_ACTOR_CREATION_GPUS_SPECIFIED_CASE = 0
+
 
 class FunctionID(object):
     def __init__(self, function_id):
@@ -222,6 +236,10 @@ class Worker(object):
         self.make_actor = None
         self.actors = {}
         self.actor_task_counter = 0
+        # A set of all of the actor class keys that have been imported by the
+        # import thread. It is safe to convert this worker into an actor of
+        # these types.
+        self.imported_actor_classes = set()
         # The number of threads Plasma should use when putting an object in the
         # object store.
         self.memcopy_threads = 12
@@ -358,7 +376,8 @@ class Worker(object):
             # and make sure that the objects are in fact the same. We also
             # should return an error code to the caller instead of printing a
             # message.
-            print("This object already exists in the object store.")
+            print("The object with ID {} already exists in the object store."
+                  .format(object_id))
 
     def retrieve_and_deserialize(self, object_ids, timeout, error_timeout=10):
         start_time = time.time()
@@ -485,7 +504,8 @@ class Worker(object):
 
     def submit_task(self, function_id, args, actor_id=None,
                     actor_handle_id=None, actor_counter=0,
-                    is_actor_checkpoint_method=False,
+                    is_actor_checkpoint_method=False, actor_creation_id=None,
+                    actor_creation_dummy_object_id=None,
                     execution_dependencies=None):
         """Submit a remote task to the scheduler.
 
@@ -502,15 +522,33 @@ class Worker(object):
             actor_counter: The counter of the actor task.
             is_actor_checkpoint_method: True if this is an actor checkpoint
                 task and false otherwise.
+            actor_creation_id: The ID of the actor to create, if this is an
+                actor creation task.
+            actor_creation_dummy_object_id: If this task is an actor method,
+                then this argument is the dummy object ID associated with the
+                actor creation task for the corresponding actor.
+            execution_dependencies: The execution dependencies for this task.
+
+        Returns:
+            The return object IDs for this task.
         """
         with log_span("ray:submit_task", worker=self):
             check_main_thread()
             if actor_id is None:
                 assert actor_handle_id is None
                 actor_id = ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID)
-                actor_handle_id = ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID)
+                actor_handle_id = ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(
+                    NIL_ACTOR_HANDLE_ID)
             else:
                 assert actor_handle_id is not None
+
+            if actor_creation_id is None:
+                actor_creation_id = ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID)
+
+            if actor_creation_dummy_object_id is None:
+                actor_creation_dummy_object_id = (
+                    ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ID))
+
             # Put large or complex arguments that are passed by value in the
             # object store first.
             args_for_local_scheduler = []
@@ -541,6 +579,8 @@ class Worker(object):
                 function_properties.num_return_vals,
                 self.current_task_id,
                 self.task_index,
+                actor_creation_id,
+                actor_creation_dummy_object_id,
                 actor_id,
                 actor_handle_id,
                 actor_counter,
@@ -801,6 +841,29 @@ class Worker(object):
                                        data={"function_id": function_id.id(),
                                              "function_name": function_name})
 
+    def _become_actor(self, task):
+        """Turn this worker into an actor.
+
+        Args:
+            task: The actor creation task.
+        """
+        assert self.actor_id == NIL_ACTOR_ID
+        arguments = task.arguments()
+        assert len(arguments) == 1
+        self.actor_id = task.actor_creation_id().id()
+        class_id = arguments[0]
+
+        key = b"ActorClass:" + class_id
+
+        # Wait for the actor class key to have been imported by the import
+        # thread. TODO(rkn): It shouldn't be possible to end up in an infinite
+        # loop here, but we should push an error to the driver if too much time
+        # is spent here.
+        while key not in self.imported_actor_classes:
+            time.sleep(0.001)
+
+        self.fetch_and_register_actor(key, task.required_resources(), self)
+
     def _wait_for_and_process_task(self, task):
         """Wait for a task to be ready and process the task.
 
@@ -808,6 +871,14 @@ class Worker(object):
             task: The task to execute.
         """
         function_id = task.function_id()
+
+        # TODO(rkn): It would be preferable for actor creation tasks to share
+        # more of the code path with regular task execution.
+        if (task.actor_creation_id() !=
+                ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID)):
+            self._become_actor(task)
+            return
+
         # Wait until the function to be executed has actually been registered
         # on this worker. We will push warnings to the user if we spend too
         # long in this loop.
@@ -1379,7 +1450,7 @@ def _init(address_info=None,
                 address_info["local_scheduler_socket_names"][0]),
             "webui_url": address_info["webui_url"]}
     connect(driver_address_info, object_id_seed=object_id_seed,
-            mode=driver_mode, worker=global_worker, actor_id=NIL_ACTOR_ID)
+            mode=driver_mode, worker=global_worker)
     return address_info
 
 
@@ -1678,13 +1749,10 @@ def import_thread(worker, mode):
             elif key.startswith(b"FunctionsToRun"):
                 fetch_and_execute_function_to_run(key, worker=worker)
             elif key.startswith(b"ActorClass"):
-                # If this worker is an actor that is supposed to construct this
-                # class, fetch the actor and class information and construct
-                # the class.
-                class_id = key.split(b":", 1)[1]
-                if (worker.actor_id != NIL_ACTOR_ID and
-                        worker.class_id == class_id):
-                    worker.fetch_and_register_actor(key, worker)
+                # Keep track of the fact that this actor class has been
+                # exported so that we know it is safe to turn this worker into
+                # an actor of that class.
+                worker.imported_actor_classes.add(key)
             else:
                 raise Exception("This code should be unreachable.")
 
@@ -1721,12 +1789,14 @@ def import_thread(worker, mode):
                                       worker=worker):
                             fetch_and_execute_function_to_run(key,
                                                               worker=worker)
-                    elif key.startswith(b"Actor"):
-                        # Only get the actor if the actor ID matches the actor
-                        # ID of this worker.
-                        actor_id, = worker.redis_client.hmget(key, "actor_id")
-                        if worker.actor_id == actor_id:
-                            worker.fetch_and_register["Actor"](key, worker)
+                    elif key.startswith(b"ActorClass"):
+                        # Keep track of the fact that this actor class has been
+                        # exported so that we know it is safe to turn this
+                        # worker into an actor of that class.
+                        worker.imported_actor_classes.add(key)
+
+                    # TODO(rkn): We may need to bring back the case of fetching
+                    # actor classes here.
                     else:
                         raise Exception("This code should be unreachable.")
     except redis.ConnectionError:
@@ -1735,8 +1805,7 @@ def import_thread(worker, mode):
         pass
 
 
-def connect(info, object_id_seed=None, mode=WORKER_MODE, worker=global_worker,
-            actor_id=NIL_ACTOR_ID):
+def connect(info, object_id_seed=None, mode=WORKER_MODE, worker=global_worker):
     """Connect this worker to the local scheduler, to Plasma, and to Redis.
 
     Args:
@@ -1746,8 +1815,6 @@ def connect(info, object_id_seed=None, mode=WORKER_MODE, worker=global_worker,
             deterministic.
         mode: The mode of the worker. One of SCRIPT_MODE, WORKER_MODE,
             PYTHON_MODE, and SILENT_MODE.
-        actor_id: The ID of the actor running on this worker. If this worker is
-            not an actor, then this is NIL_ACTOR_ID.
     """
     check_main_thread()
     # Do some basic checking to make sure we didn't call ray.init twice.
@@ -1757,7 +1824,9 @@ def connect(info, object_id_seed=None, mode=WORKER_MODE, worker=global_worker,
     assert worker.cached_remote_functions_and_actors is not None, error_message
     # Initialize some fields.
     worker.worker_id = random_string()
-    worker.actor_id = actor_id
+    # All workers start out as non-actors. A worker can be turned into an actor
+    # after it is created.
+    worker.actor_id = NIL_ACTOR_ID
     worker.connected = True
     worker.set_mode(mode)
     # The worker.events field is used to aggregate logging information and
@@ -1854,15 +1923,8 @@ def connect(info, object_id_seed=None, mode=WORKER_MODE, worker=global_worker,
     worker.plasma_client = plasma.connect(info["store_socket_name"],
                                           info["manager_socket_name"],
                                           64)
-    # Create the local scheduler client.
-    if worker.actor_id != NIL_ACTOR_ID:
-        num_gpus = int(worker.redis_client.hget(b"Actor:" + actor_id,
-                                                "num_gpus"))
-    else:
-        num_gpus = 0
     worker.local_scheduler_client = ray.local_scheduler.LocalSchedulerClient(
-        info["local_scheduler_socket_name"], worker.worker_id, worker.actor_id,
-        is_worker, num_gpus)
+        info["local_scheduler_socket_name"], worker.worker_id, is_worker)
 
     # If this is a driver, set the current task ID, the task driver ID, and set
     # the task index to 0.
@@ -1906,6 +1968,8 @@ def connect(info, object_id_seed=None, mode=WORKER_MODE, worker=global_worker,
             worker.task_index,
             ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
             ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
+            ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
+            ray.local_scheduler.ObjectID(NIL_ACTOR_ID),
             nil_actor_counter,
             False,
             [],
@@ -1923,12 +1987,6 @@ def connect(info, object_id_seed=None, mode=WORKER_MODE, worker=global_worker,
         # driver task.
         worker.current_task_id = driver_task.task_id()
 
-    # If this is an actor, get the ID of the corresponding class for the actor.
-    if worker.actor_id != NIL_ACTOR_ID:
-        actor_key = b"Actor:" + worker.actor_id
-        class_id = worker.redis_client.hget(actor_key, "class_id")
-        worker.class_id = class_id
-
     # Initialize the serialization library. This registers some classes, and so
     # it must be run before we export all of the cached remote functions.
     _initialize_serialization()
@@ -2457,10 +2515,16 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
     """
     worker = global_worker
 
-    def make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, resources, max_calls,
-                              checkpoint_interval, func_id=None):
+    def make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, num_cpus, num_gpus, resources,
+                              max_calls, checkpoint_interval, func_id=None):
         def remote_decorator(func_or_class):
             if inspect.isfunction(func_or_class) or is_cython(func_or_class):
+                # Set the remote function default resources.
+                resources["CPU"] = (DEFAULT_REMOTE_FUNCTION_CPUS
+                                    if num_cpus is None else num_cpus)
+                resources["GPU"] = (DEFAULT_REMOTE_FUNCTION_GPUS
+                                    if num_gpus is None else num_gpus)
+
                 function_properties = FunctionProperties(
                     num_return_vals=num_return_vals,
                     resources=resources,
@@ -2468,8 +2532,28 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
                 return remote_function_decorator(func_or_class,
                                                  function_properties)
             if inspect.isclass(func_or_class):
+                # Set the actor default resources.
+                if num_cpus is None and num_gpus is None and resources == {}:
+                    # In the default case, actors acquire no resources for
+                    # their lifetime, and actor methods will require 1 CPU.
+                    resources["CPU"] = DEFAULT_ACTOR_CREATION_CPUS_SIMPLE_CASE
+                    actor_method_cpus = DEFAULT_ACTOR_METHOD_CPUS_SIMPLE_CASE
+                else:
+                    # If any resources are specified, then all resources are
+                    # acquired for the actor's lifetime and no resources are
+                    # associated with methods.
+                    resources["CPU"] = (
+                        DEFAULT_ACTOR_CREATION_CPUS_SPECIFIED_CASE
+                        if num_cpus is None else num_cpus)
+                    resources["GPU"] = (
+                        DEFAULT_ACTOR_CREATION_GPUS_SPECIFIED_CASE
+                        if num_gpus is None else num_gpus)
+                    actor_method_cpus = (
+                        DEFAULT_ACTOR_METHOD_CPUS_SPECIFIED_CASE)
+
                 return worker.make_actor(func_or_class, resources,
-                                         checkpoint_interval)
+                                         checkpoint_interval,
+                                         actor_method_cpus)
             raise Exception("The @ray.remote decorator must be applied to "
                             "either a function or to a class.")
 
@@ -2535,8 +2619,8 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
         return remote_decorator
 
     # Handle resource arguments
-    num_cpus = kwargs["num_cpus"] if "num_cpus" in kwargs else 1
-    num_gpus = kwargs["num_gpus"] if "num_gpus" in kwargs else 0
+    num_cpus = kwargs["num_cpus"] if "num_cpus" in kwargs else None
+    num_gpus = kwargs["num_gpus"] if "num_gpus" in kwargs else None
     resources = kwargs.get("resources", {})
     if not isinstance(resources, dict):
         raise Exception("The 'resources' keyword argument must be a "
@@ -2544,8 +2628,6 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
                         .format(type(resources)))
     assert "CPU" not in resources, "Use the 'num_cpus' argument."
     assert "GPU" not in resources, "Use the 'num_gpus' argument."
-    resources["CPU"] = num_cpus
-    resources["GPU"] = num_gpus
     # Handle other arguments.
     num_return_vals = (kwargs["num_return_vals"] if "num_return_vals"
                        in kwargs else 1)
@@ -2556,13 +2638,14 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
     if _mode() == WORKER_MODE:
         if "function_id" in kwargs:
             function_id = kwargs["function_id"]
-            return make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, resources, max_calls,
+            return make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, num_cpus, num_gpus,
+                                         resources, max_calls,
                                          checkpoint_interval, function_id)
 
     if len(args) == 1 and len(kwargs) == 0 and callable(args[0]):
         # This is the case where the decorator is just @ray.remote.
         return make_remote_decorator(
-            num_return_vals, resources,
+            num_return_vals, num_cpus, num_gpus, resources,
             max_calls, checkpoint_interval)(args[0])
     else:
         # This is the case where the decorator is something like
@@ -2580,5 +2663,5 @@ def remote(*args, **kwargs):
                            "resources", "max_calls",
                            "checkpoint_interval"], error_string
         assert "function_id" not in kwargs
-        return make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, resources, max_calls,
-                                     checkpoint_interval)
+        return make_remote_decorator(num_return_vals, num_cpus, num_gpus,
+                                     resources, max_calls, checkpoint_interval)
diff --git a/python/ray/workers/default_worker.py b/python/ray/workers/default_worker.py
index 01a45391d..8551f118f 100644
--- a/python/ray/workers/default_worker.py
+++ b/python/ray/workers/default_worker.py
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ from __future__ import division
 from __future__ import print_function
 
 import argparse
-import binascii
 import traceback
 
 import ray
@@ -21,32 +20,18 @@ parser.add_argument("--object-store-manager-name", required=True, type=str,
                     help="the object store manager's name")
 parser.add_argument("--local-scheduler-name", required=True, type=str,
                     help="the local scheduler's name")
-parser.add_argument("--actor-id", required=False, type=str,
-                    help="the actor ID of this worker")
-parser.add_argument("--reconstruct", action="store_true",
-                    help=("true if the actor should be started in reconstruct "
-                          "mode"))
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
-    # If this worker is not an actor, it cannot be started in reconstruct mode.
-    if args.actor_id is None:
-        assert not args.reconstruct
-
     info = {"node_ip_address": args.node_ip_address,
             "redis_address": args.redis_address,
             "store_socket_name": args.object_store_name,
             "manager_socket_name": args.object_store_manager_name,
             "local_scheduler_socket_name": args.local_scheduler_name}
 
-    if args.actor_id is not None:
-        actor_id = binascii.unhexlify(args.actor_id)
-    else:
-        actor_id = ray.worker.NIL_ACTOR_ID
-
-    ray.worker.connect(info, mode=ray.WORKER_MODE, actor_id=actor_id)
+    ray.worker.connect(info, mode=ray.WORKER_MODE)
 
     error_explanation = """
   This error is unexpected and should not have happened. Somehow a worker
diff --git a/src/common/format/common.fbs b/src/common/format/common.fbs
index 359c3f1af..029760c36 100644
--- a/src/common/format/common.fbs
+++ b/src/common/format/common.fbs
@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ table TaskInfo {
   parent_task_id: string;
   // A count of the number of tasks submitted by the parent task before this one.
   parent_counter: int;
+  // The ID of the actor to create if this is an actor creation task.
+  actor_creation_id: string;
+  // The dummy object ID of the actor creation task if this is an actor method.
+  actor_creation_dummy_object_id: string;
   // Actor ID of the task. This is the actor that this task is executed on
   // or NIL_ACTOR_ID if the task is just a normal task.
   actor_id: string;
@@ -162,3 +166,12 @@ table DriverTableMessage {
   // The driver ID of the driver that died.
   driver_id: string;
 }
+
+table ActorCreationNotification {
+  // The ID of the actor that was created.
+  actor_id: string;
+  // The ID of the driver that created the actor.
+  driver_id: string;
+  // The ID of the local scheduler that created the actor.
+  local_scheduler_id: string;
+}
diff --git a/src/common/lib/python/common_extension.cc b/src/common/lib/python/common_extension.cc
index d5f92b695..645e20621 100644
--- a/src/common/lib/python/common_extension.cc
+++ b/src/common/lib/python/common_extension.cc
@@ -272,9 +272,9 @@ static int PyTask_init(PyTask *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds) {
   /* ID of the driver that this task originates from. */
   UniqueID driver_id;
   /* ID of the actor this task should run on. */
-  UniqueID actor_id = UniqueID::nil();
+  UniqueID actor_id = ActorID::nil();
   /* ID of the actor handle used to submit this task. */
-  UniqueID actor_handle_id = UniqueID::nil();
+  UniqueID actor_handle_id = ActorHandleID::nil();
   /* How many tasks have been launched on the actor so far? */
   int actor_counter = 0;
   /* True if this is an actor checkpoint task and false otherwise. */
@@ -289,15 +289,21 @@ static int PyTask_init(PyTask *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds) {
   TaskID parent_task_id;
   /* The number of tasks that the parent task has called prior to this one. */
   int parent_counter;
+  // The actor creation ID.
+  ActorID actor_creation_id = ActorID::nil();
+  // The dummy object for the actor creation task (if this is an actor method).
+  ObjectID actor_creation_dummy_object_id = ObjectID::nil();
   /* Arguments of the task that are execution-dependent. These must be
    * PyObjectIDs). */
   PyObject *execution_arguments = NULL;
   /* Dictionary of resource requirements for this task. */
   PyObject *resource_map = NULL;
-  if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O&O&OiO&i|O&O&iOOO", &PyObjectToUniqueID,
+  if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "O&O&OiO&i|O&O&O&O&iOOO", &PyObjectToUniqueID,
                         &driver_id, &PyObjectToUniqueID, &function_id,
                         &arguments, &num_returns, &PyObjectToUniqueID,
                         &parent_task_id, &parent_counter, &PyObjectToUniqueID,
+                        &actor_creation_id, &PyObjectToUniqueID,
+                        &actor_creation_dummy_object_id, &PyObjectToUniqueID,
                         &actor_id, &PyObjectToUniqueID, &actor_handle_id,
                         &actor_counter, &is_actor_checkpoint_method_object,
                         &execution_arguments, &resource_map)) {
@@ -312,10 +318,11 @@ static int PyTask_init(PyTask *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwds) {
 
   Py_ssize_t size = PyList_Size(arguments);
   /* Construct the task specification. */
-  TaskSpec_start_construct(g_task_builder, driver_id, parent_task_id,
-                           parent_counter, actor_id, actor_handle_id,
-                           actor_counter, is_actor_checkpoint_method,
-                           function_id, num_returns);
+  TaskSpec_start_construct(
+      g_task_builder, driver_id, parent_task_id, parent_counter,
+      actor_creation_id, actor_creation_dummy_object_id, actor_id,
+      actor_handle_id, actor_counter, is_actor_checkpoint_method, function_id,
+      num_returns);
   /* Add the task arguments. */
   for (Py_ssize_t i = 0; i < size; ++i) {
     PyObject *arg = PyList_GetItem(arguments, i);
@@ -463,6 +470,21 @@ static PyObject *PyTask_arguments(PyObject *self) {
   return arg_list;
 }
 
+static PyObject *PyTask_actor_creation_id(PyObject *self) {
+  ActorID actor_creation_id =
+      TaskSpec_actor_creation_id(((PyTask *) self)->spec);
+  return PyObjectID_make(actor_creation_id);
+}
+
+static PyObject *PyTask_actor_creation_dummy_object_id(PyObject *self) {
+  ActorID actor_creation_dummy_object_id = ActorID::nil();
+  if (TaskSpec_is_actor_task(((PyTask *) self)->spec)) {
+    actor_creation_dummy_object_id =
+        TaskSpec_actor_creation_dummy_object_id(((PyTask *) self)->spec);
+  }
+  return PyObjectID_make(actor_creation_dummy_object_id);
+}
+
 static PyObject *PyTask_required_resources(PyObject *self) {
   TaskSpec *task = ((PyTask *) self)->spec;
   PyObject *required_resources = PyDict_New();
@@ -520,6 +542,11 @@ static PyMethodDef PyTask_methods[] = {
      "Return the task ID for this task."},
     {"arguments", (PyCFunction) PyTask_arguments, METH_NOARGS,
      "Return the arguments for the task."},
+    {"actor_creation_id", (PyCFunction) PyTask_actor_creation_id, METH_NOARGS,
+     "Return the actor creation ID for the task."},
+    {"actor_creation_dummy_object_id",
+     (PyCFunction) PyTask_actor_creation_dummy_object_id, METH_NOARGS,
+     "Return the actor creation dummy object ID for the task."},
     {"required_resources", (PyCFunction) PyTask_required_resources, METH_NOARGS,
      "Return the resource vector of the task."},
     {"returns", (PyCFunction) PyTask_returns, METH_NOARGS,
diff --git a/src/common/state/actor_notification_table.cc b/src/common/state/actor_notification_table.cc
index e99811960..19cd7fddd 100644
--- a/src/common/state/actor_notification_table.cc
+++ b/src/common/state/actor_notification_table.cc
@@ -1,6 +1,31 @@
 #include "actor_notification_table.h"
+
+#include "common_protocol.h"
 #include "redis.h"
 
+void publish_actor_creation_notification(DBHandle *db_handle,
+                                         const ActorID &actor_id,
+                                         const WorkerID &driver_id,
+                                         const DBClientID &local_scheduler_id) {
+  // Create a flatbuffer object to serialize and publish.
+  flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder fbb;
+  // Create the flatbuffers message.
+  auto message = CreateActorCreationNotification(
+      fbb, to_flatbuf(fbb, actor_id), to_flatbuf(fbb, driver_id),
+      to_flatbuf(fbb, local_scheduler_id));
+  fbb.Finish(message);
+
+  ActorCreationNotificationData *data =
+      (ActorCreationNotificationData *) malloc(
+          sizeof(ActorCreationNotificationData) + fbb.GetSize());
+  data->size = fbb.GetSize();
+  memcpy(&data->flatbuffer_data[0], fbb.GetBufferPointer(), fbb.GetSize());
+
+  init_table_callback(db_handle, UniqueID::nil(), __func__,
+                      new CommonCallbackData(data), NULL, NULL,
+                      redis_publish_actor_creation_notification, NULL);
+}
+
 void actor_notification_table_subscribe(
     DBHandle *db_handle,
     actor_notification_table_subscribe_callback subscribe_callback,
diff --git a/src/common/state/actor_notification_table.h b/src/common/state/actor_notification_table.h
index c287722e6..f6aa101cd 100644
--- a/src/common/state/actor_notification_table.h
+++ b/src/common/state/actor_notification_table.h
@@ -11,12 +11,33 @@
 
 /* Callback for subscribing to the local scheduler table. */
 typedef void (*actor_notification_table_subscribe_callback)(
-    ActorID actor_id,
-    WorkerID driver_id,
-    DBClientID local_scheduler_id,
-    bool reconstruct,
+    const ActorID &actor_id,
+    const WorkerID &driver_id,
+    const DBClientID &local_scheduler_id,
     void *user_context);
 
+/// Publish an actor creation notification. This is published by a local
+/// scheduler once it creates an actor.
+///
+/// \param db_handle Database handle.
+/// \param actor_id The ID of the actor that was created.
+/// \param driver_id The ID of the driver that created the actor.
+/// \param local_scheduler_id The ID of the local scheduler that created the
+///        actor.
+/// \return Void.
+void publish_actor_creation_notification(DBHandle *db_handle,
+                                         const ActorID &actor_id,
+                                         const WorkerID &driver_id,
+                                         const DBClientID &local_scheduler_id);
+
+/// Data that is needed to publish an actor creation notification.
+typedef struct {
+  /// The size of the flatbuffer object.
+  int64_t size;
+  /// The information to be sent.
+  uint8_t flatbuffer_data[0];
+} ActorCreationNotificationData;
+
 /**
  * Register a callback to process actor notification events.
  *
diff --git a/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.cc b/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.cc
index bacf90253..075d52102 100644
--- a/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.cc
+++ b/src/common/state/local_scheduler_table.cc
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
-#include "common_protocol.h"
 #include "local_scheduler_table.h"
+
+#include "common_protocol.h"
 #include "redis.h"
 
 void local_scheduler_table_subscribe(
diff --git a/src/common/state/redis.cc b/src/common/state/redis.cc
index d3167ab9b..f2d80af8e 100644
--- a/src/common/state/redis.cc
+++ b/src/common/state/redis.cc
@@ -1033,7 +1033,8 @@ void redis_task_table_test_and_update_callback(redisAsyncContext *c,
      * delayed when added to the task table if they are submitted to a local
      * scheduler before it receives the notification that maps the actor to a
      * local scheduler. */
-    RAY_LOG(ERROR) << "No task found during task_table_test_and_update";
+    RAY_LOG(ERROR) << "No task found during task_table_test_and_update for "
+                   << "task with ID " << callback_data->id;
     return;
   }
   /* Determine whether the update happened. */
@@ -1541,6 +1542,40 @@ void redis_plasma_manager_send_heartbeat(TableCallbackData *callback_data) {
   destroy_timer_callback(db->loop, callback_data);
 }
 
+void redis_publish_actor_creation_notification_callback(redisAsyncContext *c,
+                                                        void *r,
+                                                        void *privdata) {
+  REDIS_CALLBACK_HEADER(db, callback_data, r);
+
+  redisReply *reply = (redisReply *) r;
+  RAY_CHECK(reply->type == REDIS_REPLY_INTEGER);
+  RAY_LOG(DEBUG) << reply->integer << " subscribers received this publish.";
+  // At the very least, the local scheduler that publishes this message should
+  // also receive it.
+  RAY_CHECK(reply->integer >= 1);
+
+  RAY_CHECK(callback_data->done_callback == NULL);
+  // Clean up the timer and callback.
+  destroy_timer_callback(db->loop, callback_data);
+}
+
+void redis_publish_actor_creation_notification(
+    TableCallbackData *callback_data) {
+  DBHandle *db = callback_data->db_handle;
+
+  ActorCreationNotificationData *data =
+      (ActorCreationNotificationData *) callback_data->data->Get();
+
+  int status = redisAsyncCommand(
+      db->context, redis_publish_actor_creation_notification_callback,
+      (void *) callback_data->timer_id, "PUBLISH actor_notifications %b",
+      &data->flatbuffer_data[0], data->size);
+  if ((status == REDIS_ERR) || db->context->err) {
+    LOG_REDIS_DEBUG(db->context,
+                    "error in redis_publish_actor_creation_notification");
+  }
+}
+
 void redis_actor_notification_table_subscribe_callback(redisAsyncContext *c,
                                                        void *r,
                                                        void *privdata) {
@@ -1554,43 +1589,22 @@ void redis_actor_notification_table_subscribe_callback(redisAsyncContext *c,
                  << message_type->str;
 
   if (strcmp(message_type->str, "message") == 0) {
-    /* Handle an actor notification message. Parse the payload and call the
-     * subscribe callback. */
+    // Handle an actor notification message. Parse the payload and call the
+    // subscribe callback.
     redisReply *payload = reply->element[2];
     ActorNotificationTableSubscribeData *data =
         (ActorNotificationTableSubscribeData *) callback_data->data->Get();
-    /* The payload should be the concatenation of three IDs. */
-    ActorID actor_id;
-    WorkerID driver_id;
-    DBClientID local_scheduler_id;
-    bool reconstruct;
-    RAY_CHECK(sizeof(actor_id) + sizeof(driver_id) +
-                  sizeof(local_scheduler_id) + 1 ==
-              payload->len);
-    char *current_ptr = payload->str;
-    /* Parse the actor ID. */
-    memcpy(&actor_id, current_ptr, sizeof(actor_id));
-    current_ptr += sizeof(actor_id);
-    /* Parse the driver ID. */
-    memcpy(&driver_id, current_ptr, sizeof(driver_id));
-    current_ptr += sizeof(driver_id);
-    /* Parse the local scheduler ID. */
-    memcpy(&local_scheduler_id, current_ptr, sizeof(local_scheduler_id));
-    current_ptr += sizeof(local_scheduler_id);
-    /* Parse the reconstruct bit. */
-    if (*current_ptr == '1') {
-      reconstruct = true;
-    } else if (*current_ptr == '0') {
-      reconstruct = false;
-    } else {
-      reconstruct = false;  // We set this value to avoid a compiler warning.
-      RAY_LOG(FATAL) << "This code should be unreachable.";
-    }
-    current_ptr += 1;
+
+    auto message =
+        flatbuffers::GetRoot<ActorCreationNotification>(payload->str);
+    ActorID actor_id = from_flatbuf(*message->actor_id());
+    WorkerID driver_id = from_flatbuf(*message->driver_id());
+    DBClientID local_scheduler_id =
+        from_flatbuf(*message->local_scheduler_id());
 
     if (data->subscribe_callback) {
       data->subscribe_callback(actor_id, driver_id, local_scheduler_id,
-                               reconstruct, data->subscribe_context);
+                               data->subscribe_context);
     }
   } else if (strcmp(message_type->str, "subscribe") == 0) {
     /* The reply for the initial SUBSCRIBE command. */
diff --git a/src/common/state/redis.h b/src/common/state/redis.h
index ff324a5ac..dc879eb82 100644
--- a/src/common/state/redis.h
+++ b/src/common/state/redis.h
@@ -332,6 +332,14 @@ void redis_plasma_manager_send_heartbeat(TableCallbackData *callback_data);
  */
 void redis_actor_table_mark_removed(DBHandle *db, ActorID actor_id);
 
+/// Publish an actor creation notification.
+///
+/// \param callback_data Data structure containing redis connection and timeout
+///      information.
+/// \return Void.
+void redis_publish_actor_creation_notification(
+    TableCallbackData *callback_data);
+
 /**
  * Subscribe to updates about newly created actors.
  *
diff --git a/src/common/task.cc b/src/common/task.cc
index 702eaab95..9b4969618 100644
--- a/src/common/task.cc
+++ b/src/common/task.cc
@@ -37,8 +37,10 @@ class TaskBuilder {
   void Start(UniqueID driver_id,
              TaskID parent_task_id,
              int64_t parent_counter,
+             ActorID actor_creation_id,
+             ObjectID actor_creation_dummy_object_id,
              ActorID actor_id,
-             ActorID actor_handle_id,
+             ActorHandleID actor_handle_id,
              int64_t actor_counter,
              bool is_actor_checkpoint_method,
              FunctionID function_id,
@@ -46,6 +48,8 @@ class TaskBuilder {
     driver_id_ = driver_id;
     parent_task_id_ = parent_task_id;
     parent_counter_ = parent_counter;
+    actor_creation_id_ = actor_creation_id;
+    actor_creation_dummy_object_id_ = actor_creation_dummy_object_id;
     actor_id_ = actor_id;
     actor_handle_id_ = actor_handle_id;
     actor_counter_ = actor_counter;
@@ -58,6 +62,9 @@ class TaskBuilder {
     sha256_update(&ctx, (BYTE *) &driver_id, sizeof(driver_id));
     sha256_update(&ctx, (BYTE *) &parent_task_id, sizeof(parent_task_id));
     sha256_update(&ctx, (BYTE *) &parent_counter, sizeof(parent_counter));
+    sha256_update(&ctx, (BYTE *) &actor_creation_id, sizeof(actor_creation_id));
+    sha256_update(&ctx, (BYTE *) &actor_creation_dummy_object_id,
+                  sizeof(actor_creation_dummy_object_id));
     sha256_update(&ctx, (BYTE *) &actor_id, sizeof(actor_id));
     sha256_update(&ctx, (BYTE *) &actor_counter, sizeof(actor_counter));
     sha256_update(&ctx, (BYTE *) &is_actor_checkpoint_method,
@@ -103,6 +110,8 @@ class TaskBuilder {
     auto message = CreateTaskInfo(
         fbb, to_flatbuf(fbb, driver_id_), to_flatbuf(fbb, task_id),
         to_flatbuf(fbb, parent_task_id_), parent_counter_,
+        to_flatbuf(fbb, actor_creation_id_),
+        to_flatbuf(fbb, actor_creation_dummy_object_id_),
         to_flatbuf(fbb, actor_id_), to_flatbuf(fbb, actor_handle_id_),
         actor_counter_, is_actor_checkpoint_method_,
         to_flatbuf(fbb, function_id_), arguments, fbb.CreateVector(returns),
@@ -127,6 +136,8 @@ class TaskBuilder {
   UniqueID driver_id_;
   TaskID parent_task_id_;
   int64_t parent_counter_;
+  ActorID actor_creation_id_;
+  ObjectID actor_creation_dummy_object_id_;
   ActorID actor_id_;
   ActorID actor_handle_id_;
   int64_t actor_counter_;
@@ -170,15 +181,18 @@ void TaskSpec_start_construct(TaskBuilder *builder,
                               UniqueID driver_id,
                               TaskID parent_task_id,
                               int64_t parent_counter,
+                              ActorID actor_creation_id,
+                              ObjectID actor_creation_dummy_object_id,
                               ActorID actor_id,
                               ActorID actor_handle_id,
                               int64_t actor_counter,
                               bool is_actor_checkpoint_method,
                               FunctionID function_id,
                               int64_t num_returns) {
-  builder->Start(driver_id, parent_task_id, parent_counter, actor_id,
-                 actor_handle_id, actor_counter, is_actor_checkpoint_method,
-                 function_id, num_returns);
+  builder->Start(driver_id, parent_task_id, parent_counter, actor_creation_id,
+                 actor_creation_dummy_object_id, actor_id, actor_handle_id,
+                 actor_counter, is_actor_checkpoint_method, function_id,
+                 num_returns);
 }
 
 TaskSpec *TaskSpec_finish_construct(TaskBuilder *builder, int64_t *size) {
@@ -233,6 +247,24 @@ bool TaskSpec_is_actor_task(TaskSpec *spec) {
   return !TaskSpec_actor_id(spec).is_nil();
 }
 
+ActorID TaskSpec_actor_creation_id(TaskSpec *spec) {
+  RAY_CHECK(spec);
+  auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
+  return from_flatbuf(*message->actor_creation_id());
+}
+
+ObjectID TaskSpec_actor_creation_dummy_object_id(TaskSpec *spec) {
+  RAY_CHECK(spec);
+  // The task must be an actor method.
+  RAY_CHECK(TaskSpec_is_actor_task(spec));
+  auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
+  return from_flatbuf(*message->actor_creation_dummy_object_id());
+}
+
+bool TaskSpec_is_actor_creation_task(TaskSpec *spec) {
+  return !TaskSpec_actor_creation_id(spec).is_nil();
+}
+
 int64_t TaskSpec_actor_counter(TaskSpec *spec) {
   RAY_CHECK(spec);
   auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<TaskInfo>(spec);
diff --git a/src/common/task.h b/src/common/task.h
index dc2bd07ef..e3e2608f8 100644
--- a/src/common/task.h
+++ b/src/common/task.h
@@ -190,6 +190,9 @@ void free_task_builder(TaskBuilder *builder);
  * @param parent_task_id The task ID of the task that submitted this task.
  * @param parent_counter A counter indicating how many tasks were submitted by
  *        the parent task prior to this one.
+ * @param actor_creation_id The actor creation ID of this task.
+ * @param actor_creation_dummy_object_id The dummy object for the corresponding
+ *        actor creation task, assuming this is an actor method.
  * @param actor_id The ID of the actor that this task is for. If it is not an
  *        actor task, then this if NIL_ACTOR_ID.
  * @param actor_handle_id The ID of the actor handle that this task was
@@ -210,8 +213,10 @@ void TaskSpec_start_construct(TaskBuilder *B,
                               UniqueID driver_id,
                               TaskID parent_task_id,
                               int64_t parent_counter,
-                              UniqueID actor_id,
-                              UniqueID actor_handle_id,
+                              ActorID actor_creation_id,
+                              ObjectID actor_creation_dummy_object_id,
+                              ActorID actor_id,
+                              ActorHandleID actor_handle_id,
                               int64_t actor_counter,
                               bool is_actor_checkpoint_method,
                               FunctionID function_id,
@@ -241,7 +246,7 @@ FunctionID TaskSpec_function(TaskSpec *spec);
  * @param spec The task_spec in question.
  * @return The actor ID of the actor the task is part of.
  */
-UniqueID TaskSpec_actor_id(TaskSpec *spec);
+ActorID TaskSpec_actor_id(TaskSpec *spec);
 
 /**
  * Return the actor handle ID of the task.
@@ -249,7 +254,7 @@ UniqueID TaskSpec_actor_id(TaskSpec *spec);
  * @param spec The task_spec in question.
  * @return The ID of the actor handle that the task was submitted through.
  */
-UniqueID TaskSpec_actor_handle_id(TaskSpec *spec);
+ActorID TaskSpec_actor_handle_id(TaskSpec *spec);
 
 /**
  * Return whether this task is for an actor.
@@ -259,6 +264,26 @@ UniqueID TaskSpec_actor_handle_id(TaskSpec *spec);
  */
 bool TaskSpec_is_actor_task(TaskSpec *spec);
 
+/// Return whether this task is an actor creation task or not.
+///
+/// \param spec The task_spec in question.
+/// \return True if this task is an actor creation task and false otherwise.
+bool TaskSpec_is_actor_creation_task(TaskSpec *spec);
+
+/// Return the actor creation ID of the task. The task must be an actor creation
+/// task.
+///
+/// \param spec The task_spec in question.
+/// \return The actor creation ID if this is an actor creation task.
+ActorID TaskSpec_actor_creation_id(TaskSpec *spec);
+
+/// Return the actor creation dummy object ID of the task. The task must be an
+/// actor task.
+///
+/// \param spec The task_spec in question.
+/// \return The actor creation dummy object ID corresponding to this actor task.
+ObjectID TaskSpec_actor_creation_dummy_object_id(TaskSpec *spec);
+
 /**
  * Return the actor counter of the task. This starts at 0 and increments by 1
  * every time a new task is submitted to run on the actor.
@@ -508,7 +533,10 @@ typedef enum {
   /** The task was not able to finish. */
   TASK_STATUS_LOST = 32,
   /** The task will be submitted for reexecution. */
-  TASK_STATUS_RECONSTRUCTING = 64
+  TASK_STATUS_RECONSTRUCTING = 64,
+  /** An actor task is cached at a local scheduler and is waiting for the
+   *  corresponding actor to be created. */
+  TASK_STATUS_ACTOR_CACHED = 128
 } scheduling_state;
 
 /** A task is an execution of a task specification.  It has a state of execution
diff --git a/src/common/test/example_task.h b/src/common/test/example_task.h
index 194766b8b..40d155e64 100644
--- a/src/common/test/example_task.h
+++ b/src/common/test/example_task.h
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@ static inline TaskExecutionSpec example_task_execution_spec_with_args(
   TaskID parent_task_id = TaskID::from_random();
   FunctionID func_id = FunctionID::from_random();
   TaskSpec_start_construct(g_task_builder, UniqueID::nil(), parent_task_id, 0,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id,
-                           num_returns);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id, num_returns);
   for (int64_t i = 0; i < num_args; ++i) {
     ObjectID arg_id;
     if (arg_ids == NULL) {
diff --git a/src/common/test/task_tests.cc b/src/common/test/task_tests.cc
index a18c67bc9..03d376f92 100644
--- a/src/common/test/task_tests.cc
+++ b/src/common/test/task_tests.cc
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ TEST task_test(void) {
   FunctionID func_id = FunctionID::from_random();
   TaskBuilder *builder = make_task_builder();
   TaskSpec_start_construct(builder, DriverID::nil(), parent_task_id, 0,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id,
-                           2);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id, 2);
 
   UniqueID arg1 = UniqueID::from_random();
   TaskSpec_args_add_ref(builder, &arg1, 1);
@@ -56,8 +56,8 @@ TEST deterministic_ids_test(void) {
 
   /* Construct a first task. */
   TaskSpec_start_construct(builder, DriverID::nil(), parent_task_id, 0,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id,
-                           3);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id, 3);
   TaskSpec_args_add_ref(builder, &arg1, 1);
   TaskSpec_args_add_val(builder, arg2, 11);
   int64_t size1;
@@ -65,8 +65,8 @@ TEST deterministic_ids_test(void) {
 
   /* Construct a second identical task. */
   TaskSpec_start_construct(builder, DriverID::nil(), parent_task_id, 0,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id,
-                           3);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id, 3);
   TaskSpec_args_add_ref(builder, &arg1, 1);
   TaskSpec_args_add_val(builder, arg2, 11);
   int64_t size2;
@@ -86,8 +86,8 @@ TEST deterministic_ids_test(void) {
 
   /* Construct a task with a different parent task ID. */
   TaskSpec_start_construct(builder, DriverID::nil(), TaskID::from_random(), 0,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id,
-                           3);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id, 3);
   TaskSpec_args_add_ref(builder, &arg1, 1);
   TaskSpec_args_add_val(builder, arg2, 11);
   int64_t size3;
@@ -95,8 +95,8 @@ TEST deterministic_ids_test(void) {
 
   /* Construct a task with a different parent counter. */
   TaskSpec_start_construct(builder, DriverID::nil(), parent_task_id, 1,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id,
-                           3);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id, 3);
   TaskSpec_args_add_ref(builder, &arg1, 1);
   TaskSpec_args_add_val(builder, arg2, 11);
   int64_t size4;
@@ -104,8 +104,9 @@ TEST deterministic_ids_test(void) {
 
   /* Construct a task with a different function ID. */
   TaskSpec_start_construct(builder, DriverID::nil(), parent_task_id, 0,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false,
-                           FunctionID::from_random(), 3);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, FunctionID::from_random(),
+                           3);
   TaskSpec_args_add_ref(builder, &arg1, 1);
   TaskSpec_args_add_val(builder, arg2, 11);
   int64_t size5;
@@ -113,8 +114,8 @@ TEST deterministic_ids_test(void) {
 
   /* Construct a task with a different object ID argument. */
   TaskSpec_start_construct(builder, DriverID::nil(), parent_task_id, 0,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id,
-                           3);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id, 3);
   ObjectID object_id = ObjectID::from_random();
   TaskSpec_args_add_ref(builder, &object_id, 1);
   TaskSpec_args_add_val(builder, arg2, 11);
@@ -123,8 +124,8 @@ TEST deterministic_ids_test(void) {
 
   /* Construct a task with a different value argument. */
   TaskSpec_start_construct(builder, DriverID::nil(), parent_task_id, 0,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id,
-                           3);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id, 3);
   TaskSpec_args_add_ref(builder, &arg1, 1);
   TaskSpec_args_add_val(builder, (uint8_t *) "hello_world", 11);
   int64_t size7;
@@ -168,8 +169,8 @@ TEST send_task(void) {
   TaskID parent_task_id = TaskID::from_random();
   FunctionID func_id = FunctionID::from_random();
   TaskSpec_start_construct(builder, DriverID::nil(), parent_task_id, 0,
-                           ActorID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id,
-                           2);
+                           ActorID::nil(), ObjectID::nil(), ActorID::nil(),
+                           ActorID::nil(), 0, false, func_id, 2);
   ObjectID object_id = ObjectID::from_random();
   TaskSpec_args_add_ref(builder, &object_id, 1);
   TaskSpec_args_add_val(builder, (uint8_t *) "Hello", 5);
diff --git a/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.cc b/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.cc
index c7ba0f7d0..7ca1b86be 100644
--- a/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.cc
+++ b/src/global_scheduler/global_scheduler_algorithm.cc
@@ -24,6 +24,14 @@ void GlobalSchedulerPolicyState_free(GlobalSchedulerPolicyState *policy_state) {
  */
 bool constraints_satisfied_hard(const LocalScheduler *scheduler,
                                 const TaskSpec *spec) {
+  if (scheduler->info.static_resources.count("CPU") == 1 &&
+      scheduler->info.static_resources.at("CPU") == 0) {
+    // Don't give tasks to local schedulers that have 0 CPUs. This can be an
+    // issue for actor creation tasks that require 0 CPUs (but the subsequent
+    // actor methods require some CPUs).
+    return false;
+  }
+
   for (auto const &resource_pair : TaskSpec_get_required_resources(spec)) {
     std::string resource_name = resource_pair.first;
     double resource_quantity = resource_pair.second;
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/format/local_scheduler.fbs b/src/local_scheduler/format/local_scheduler.fbs
index a8f91df18..67f3077c3 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/format/local_scheduler.fbs
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/format/local_scheduler.fbs
@@ -76,17 +76,8 @@ table RegisterClientRequest {
   is_worker: bool;
   // The ID of the worker or driver.
   client_id: string;
-  // The ID of the actor. This is NIL_ACTOR_ID if the worker is not an actor.
-  actor_id: string;
   // The process ID of this worker.
   worker_pid: long;
-  // The number of GPUs required by this actor.
-  num_gpus: long;
-}
-
-table RegisterClientReply {
-  // The IDs of the GPUs that are reserved for this worker.
-  gpu_ids: [int];
 }
 
 table DisconnectClient {
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.cc b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.cc
index 4e2184f4a..5f90338d9 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.cc
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.cc
@@ -226,19 +226,7 @@ void LocalSchedulerState_free(LocalSchedulerState *state) {
   event_loop_destroy(loop);
 }
 
-/**
- * Start a new worker as a child process.
- *
- * @param state The state of the local scheduler.
- * @return Void.
- */
-void start_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                  ActorID actor_id,
-                  bool reconstruct) {
-  /* Non-actors can't be started in reconstruct mode. */
-  if (actor_id.is_nil()) {
-    RAY_CHECK(!reconstruct);
-  }
+void start_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state) {
   /* We can't start a worker if we don't have the path to the worker script. */
   if (state->config.start_worker_command == NULL) {
     RAY_LOG(DEBUG) << "No valid command to start worker provided. Cannot start "
@@ -261,18 +249,6 @@ void start_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state,
     command_vector.push_back(state->config.start_worker_command[i]);
   }
 
-  /* Pass in the worker's actor ID. */
-  const char *actor_id_string = "--actor-id";
-  std::string id_string = actor_id.hex();
-  command_vector.push_back(actor_id_string);
-  command_vector.push_back(id_string.c_str());
-
-  /* Add a flag for reconstructing the actor if necessary. */
-  const char *reconstruct_string = "--reconstruct";
-  if (reconstruct) {
-    command_vector.push_back(reconstruct_string);
-  }
-
   /* Add a NULL pointer to the end. */
   command_vector.push_back(NULL);
 
@@ -419,7 +395,7 @@ LocalSchedulerState *LocalSchedulerState_init(
 
   /* Start the initial set of workers. */
   for (int i = 0; i < num_workers; ++i) {
-    start_worker(state, ActorID::nil(), false);
+    start_worker(state);
   }
 
   /* Initialize the time at which the previous heartbeat was sent. */
@@ -489,9 +465,6 @@ void acquire_resources(
       RAY_CHECK(state->dynamic_resources[resource_name] >= resource_quantity);
     }
     state->dynamic_resources[resource_name] -= resource_quantity;
-    if (resource_name == std::string("CPU")) {
-      RAY_CHECK(worker->resources_in_use[resource_name] == 0);
-    }
     worker->resources_in_use[resource_name] += resource_quantity;
   }
 
@@ -520,9 +493,6 @@ void release_resources(
     }
 
     // Do bookkeeping for general resources types.
-    if (resource_name == std::string("CPU")) {
-      RAY_CHECK(resource_quantity == worker->resources_in_use[resource_name]);
-    }
     state->dynamic_resources[resource_name] += resource_quantity;
     worker->resources_in_use[resource_name] -= resource_quantity;
   }
@@ -599,10 +569,44 @@ void assign_task_to_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state,
 void finish_task(LocalSchedulerState *state, LocalSchedulerClient *worker) {
   if (worker->task_in_progress != NULL) {
     TaskSpec *spec = Task_task_execution_spec(worker->task_in_progress)->Spec();
-    /* Return dynamic resources back for the task in progress. */
-    RAY_CHECK(worker->resources_in_use["CPU"] ==
-              TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, "CPU"));
-    if (worker->actor_id.is_nil()) {
+    // Return dynamic resources back for the task in progress.
+    if (TaskSpec_is_actor_creation_task(spec)) {
+      // Resources required by the actor creation task are acquired for the
+      // actor's lifetime, so don't return anything here. TODO(rkn): Should the
+      // actor creation task require 1 CPU in addition to any resources acquired
+      // for the lifetime of the actor? If not, then the local scheduler may
+      // schedule an arbitrary number of actor creation tasks concurrently (if
+      // they don't acquire any resources for their entire lifetime). In
+      // practice this will usually be rate-limited by the rate at which we can
+      // create new workers.
+
+      ActorID actor_creation_id = TaskSpec_actor_creation_id(spec);
+      WorkerID driver_id = TaskSpec_driver_id(spec);
+
+      // The driver must be alive because if the driver had been removed, then
+      // this worker would have been killed (because it was executing a task for
+      // the driver).
+      RAY_CHECK(is_driver_alive(state, driver_id));
+
+      // Update the worker struct with this actor ID.
+      RAY_CHECK(worker->actor_id.is_nil());
+      worker->actor_id = actor_creation_id;
+      // Extract the initial execution dependency from the actor creation task.
+      RAY_CHECK(TaskSpec_num_returns(spec) == 1);
+      ObjectID initial_execution_dependency = TaskSpec_return(spec, 0);
+      // Let the scheduling algorithm process the presence of this new worker.
+      handle_convert_worker_to_actor(state, state->algorithm_state,
+                                     actor_creation_id,
+                                     initial_execution_dependency, worker);
+      // Publish the actor creation notification. The corresponding callback
+      // handle_actor_creation_callback will update state->actor_mapping.
+      publish_actor_creation_notification(
+          state->db, actor_creation_id, driver_id, get_db_client_id(state->db));
+    } else if (worker->actor_id.is_nil()) {
+      // Return dynamic resources back for the task in progress.
+      RAY_CHECK(worker->resources_in_use["CPU"] ==
+                TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, "CPU"));
+      // Return GPU resources.
       RAY_CHECK(worker->gpus_in_use.size() ==
                 TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, "GPU"));
       release_resources(state, worker, worker->resources_in_use);
@@ -610,9 +614,7 @@ void finish_task(LocalSchedulerState *state, LocalSchedulerClient *worker) {
       // Actor tasks should only specify CPU requirements.
       RAY_CHECK(0 == TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, "GPU"));
       std::unordered_map<std::string, double> cpu_resources;
-      cpu_resources["CPU"] = worker->resources_in_use["CPU"];
-      std::unordered_map<std::string, double> resources_to_release =
-          worker->resources_in_use;
+      cpu_resources["CPU"] = TaskSpec_get_required_resource(spec, "CPU");
       release_resources(state, worker, cpu_resources);
     }
     /* If we're connected to Redis, update tables. */
@@ -902,29 +904,6 @@ void reconstruct_object(LocalSchedulerState *state,
                       reconstruct_object_lookup_callback, (void *) state);
 }
 
-void send_client_register_reply(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                                LocalSchedulerClient *worker) {
-  flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder fbb;
-  auto message =
-      CreateRegisterClientReply(fbb, fbb.CreateVector(worker->gpus_in_use));
-  fbb.Finish(message);
-
-  /* Send the message to the client. */
-  if (write_message(worker->sock, MessageType_RegisterClientReply,
-                    fbb.GetSize(), fbb.GetBufferPointer()) < 0) {
-    if (errno == EPIPE || errno == EBADF || errno == ECONNRESET) {
-      /* Something went wrong, so kill the worker. */
-      kill_worker(state, worker, false, false);
-      RAY_LOG(WARNING) << "Failed to give send register client reply to worker "
-                       << "on fd " << worker->sock
-                       << ". The client may have hung up.";
-    } else {
-      RAY_LOG(FATAL) << "Failed to send register client reply to client on fd "
-                     << worker->sock;
-    }
-  }
-}
-
 void handle_client_register(LocalSchedulerState *state,
                             LocalSchedulerClient *worker,
                             const RegisterClientRequest *message) {
@@ -940,40 +919,6 @@ void handle_client_register(LocalSchedulerState *state,
     /* Update the actor mapping with the actor ID of the worker (if an actor is
      * running on the worker). */
     worker->pid = message->worker_pid();
-    ActorID actor_id = from_flatbuf(*message->actor_id());
-    if (!actor_id.is_nil()) {
-      /* Make sure that the local scheduler is aware that it is responsible for
-       * this actor. */
-      RAY_CHECK(state->actor_mapping.count(actor_id) == 1);
-      RAY_CHECK(state->actor_mapping[actor_id].local_scheduler_id ==
-                get_db_client_id(state->db));
-      /* Update the worker struct with this actor ID. */
-      RAY_CHECK(worker->actor_id.is_nil());
-      worker->actor_id = actor_id;
-      /* Let the scheduling algorithm process the presence of this new
-       * worker. */
-      handle_actor_worker_connect(state, state->algorithm_state, actor_id,
-                                  worker);
-
-      /* If there are enough GPUs available, allocate them and reply to the
-       * actor. */
-      double num_gpus_required = (double) message->num_gpus();
-
-      std::unordered_map<std::string, double> gpu_resources;
-      gpu_resources["GPU"] = num_gpus_required;
-      if (check_dynamic_resources(state, gpu_resources)) {
-        acquire_resources(state, worker, gpu_resources);
-      } else {
-        /* TODO(rkn): This means that an actor wants to register but that there
-         * aren't enough GPUs for it. We should queue this request, and reply to
-         * the actor when GPUs become available. */
-        RAY_LOG(WARNING) << "Attempting to create an actor but there aren't "
-                         << "enough available GPUs. We'll start the worker "
-                         << "anyway without any GPUs, but this is incorrect "
-                         << "behavior.";
-      }
-    }
-
     /* Register worker process id with the scheduler. */
     /* Determine if this worker is one of our child processes. */
     RAY_LOG(DEBUG) << "PID is " << worker->pid;
@@ -987,15 +932,6 @@ void handle_client_register(LocalSchedulerState *state,
       state->child_pids.erase(it);
       RAY_LOG(DEBUG) << "Found matching child pid " << worker->pid;
     }
-
-    /* If the worker is an actor that corresponds to a driver that has been
-     * removed, then kill the worker. */
-    if (!actor_id.is_nil()) {
-      WorkerID driver_id = state->actor_mapping[actor_id].driver_id;
-      if (state->removed_drivers.count(driver_id) == 1) {
-        kill_worker(state, worker, false, false);
-      }
-    }
   } else {
     /* Register the driver. Currently we don't do anything here. */
   }
@@ -1164,7 +1100,7 @@ void process_message(event_loop *loop,
     /* If the disconnected worker was not an actor, start a new worker to make
      * sure there are enough workers in the pool. */
     if (worker->actor_id.is_nil()) {
-      start_worker(state, ActorID::nil(), false);
+      start_worker(state);
     }
   } break;
   case MessageType_EventLogMessage: {
@@ -1180,7 +1116,6 @@ void process_message(event_loop *loop,
   case MessageType_RegisterClientRequest: {
     auto message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<RegisterClientRequest>(input);
     handle_client_register(state, worker, message);
-    send_client_register_reply(state, worker);
   } break;
   case MessageType_GetTask: {
     /* If this worker reports a completed task, account for resources. */
@@ -1360,14 +1295,12 @@ void handle_task_scheduled_callback(Task *original_task,
  * @param actor_id The ID of the actor being created.
  * @param local_scheduler_id The ID of the local scheduler that is responsible
  *        for creating the actor.
- * @param reconstruct True if the actor should be started in "reconstruct" mode.
  * @param context The context for this callback.
  * @return Void.
  */
-void handle_actor_creation_callback(ActorID actor_id,
-                                    WorkerID driver_id,
-                                    DBClientID local_scheduler_id,
-                                    bool reconstruct,
+void handle_actor_creation_callback(const ActorID &actor_id,
+                                    const WorkerID &driver_id,
+                                    const DBClientID &local_scheduler_id,
                                     void *context) {
   LocalSchedulerState *state = (LocalSchedulerState *) context;
 
@@ -1376,26 +1309,19 @@ void handle_actor_creation_callback(ActorID actor_id,
     return;
   }
 
-  if (!reconstruct) {
-    /* Make sure the actor entry is not already present in the actor map table.
-     * TODO(rkn): We will need to remove this check to handle the case where the
-     * corresponding publish is retried and the case in which a task that
-     * creates an actor is resubmitted due to fault tolerance. */
-    RAY_CHECK(state->actor_mapping.count(actor_id) == 0);
-  } else {
-    /* In this case, the actor already exists. Check that the driver hasn't
-     * changed but that the local scheduler has. */
+  // TODO(rkn): If we do not have perfect task suppression and it is possible
+  // for a task to be executed simultaneously on two nodes, then we will need to
+  // detect and handle that case.
+
+  if (state->actor_mapping.count(actor_id) != 0) {
+    // This actor already exists.
     auto it = state->actor_mapping.find(actor_id);
-    RAY_CHECK(it != state->actor_mapping.end());
-    RAY_CHECK(it->second.driver_id == driver_id);
-    RAY_CHECK(!(it->second.local_scheduler_id == local_scheduler_id));
-    /* If the actor was previously assigned to this local scheduler, kill the
-     * actor. */
     if (it->second.local_scheduler_id == get_db_client_id(state->db)) {
-      /* TODO(rkn): We should kill the actor here if it is still around. Also,
-       * if it hasn't registered yet, we should keep track of its PID so we can
-       * kill it anyway. */
-      /* TODO(swang): Evict actor dummy objects as part of actor cleanup. */
+      // TODO(rkn): The actor was previously assigned to this local scheduler.
+      // We should kill the actor here if it is still around. Also, if it hasn't
+      // registered yet, we should keep track of its PID so we can kill it
+      // anyway.
+      // TODO(swang): Evict actor dummy objects as part of actor cleanup.
     }
   }
 
@@ -1407,15 +1333,9 @@ void handle_actor_creation_callback(ActorID actor_id,
   entry.driver_id = driver_id;
   state->actor_mapping[actor_id] = entry;
 
-  /* If this local scheduler is responsible for the actor, then start a new
-   * worker for the actor. */
-  if (local_scheduler_id == get_db_client_id(state->db)) {
-    start_worker(state, actor_id, reconstruct);
-  }
   /* Let the scheduling algorithm process the fact that a new actor has been
    * created. */
-  handle_actor_creation_notification(state, state->algorithm_state, actor_id,
-                                     reconstruct);
+  handle_actor_creation_notification(state, state->algorithm_state, actor_id);
 }
 
 int heartbeat_handler(event_loop *loop, timer_id id, void *context) {
@@ -1515,6 +1435,12 @@ void start_server(
       loop, RayConfig::instance()
                 .local_scheduler_reconstruction_timeout_milliseconds(),
       reconstruct_object_timeout_handler, g_state);
+  // Create a timer for rerunning actor creation tasks for actor tasks that are
+  // cached locally.
+  event_loop_add_timer(
+      loop, RayConfig::instance()
+                .local_scheduler_reconstruction_timeout_milliseconds(),
+      rerun_actor_creation_tasks_timeout_handler, g_state);
   /* Run event loop. */
   event_loop_run(loop);
 }
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.h b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.h
index 0389ea803..dd0b505fd 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.h
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler.h
@@ -104,15 +104,9 @@ void kill_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state,
  * scheduler.
  *
  * @param state The local scheduler state.
- * @param actor_id The ID of the actor for this worker. If this worker is not an
- *        actor, then NIL_ACTOR_ID should be used.
- * @param reconstruct True if the worker is an actor and is being started in
- *        reconstruct mode.
  * @param Void.
  */
-void start_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                  ActorID actor_id,
-                  bool reconstruct);
+void start_worker(LocalSchedulerState *state);
 
 /**
  * Check if a certain quantity of dynamic resources are available. If num_cpus
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.cc b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.cc
index e5b146e17..b471da791 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.cc
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.cc
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 #include "state/task_table.h"
 #include "state/actor_notification_table.h"
+#include "state/db_client_table.h"
 #include "state/local_scheduler_table.h"
 #include "state/object_table.h"
 #include "local_scheduler_shared.h"
@@ -205,6 +206,8 @@ void provide_scheduler_info(LocalSchedulerState *state,
  *
  * @param algorithm_state The state of the scheduling algorithm.
  * @param actor_id The actor ID of the actor being created.
+ * @param initial_execution_dependency The dummy object ID of the actor
+ *        creation task.
  * @param worker The worker struct for the worker that is running this actor.
  *        If the worker struct has not been created yet (meaning that the worker
  *        that is running this actor has not registered with the local scheduler
@@ -213,14 +216,15 @@ void provide_scheduler_info(LocalSchedulerState *state,
  * @return Void.
  */
 void create_actor(SchedulingAlgorithmState *algorithm_state,
-                  ActorID actor_id,
+                  const ActorID &actor_id,
+                  const ObjectID &initial_execution_dependency,
                   LocalSchedulerClient *worker) {
   LocalActorInfo entry;
   entry.task_counters[ActorHandleID::nil()] = 0;
   entry.frontier_dependencies[ActorHandleID::nil()] = ObjectID::nil();
   /* The actor has not yet executed any tasks, so there are no execution
    * dependencies for the next task to be scheduled. */
-  entry.execution_dependency = ObjectID::nil();
+  entry.execution_dependency = initial_execution_dependency;
   entry.task_queue = new std::list<TaskExecutionSpec>();
   entry.worker = worker;
   entry.worker_available = false;
@@ -315,11 +319,7 @@ bool dispatch_actor_task(LocalSchedulerState *state,
    * deterministic reconstruction ordering for tasks whose updates are
    * reflected in the task table. */
   std::vector<ObjectID> ordered_execution_dependencies;
-  /* Only overwrite execution dependencies for tasks that have a
-   * submission-time dependency (meaning it is not the initial task). */
-  if (!entry.execution_dependency.is_nil()) {
-    ordered_execution_dependencies.push_back(entry.execution_dependency);
-  }
+  ordered_execution_dependencies.push_back(entry.execution_dependency);
   task->SetExecutionDependencies(ordered_execution_dependencies);
 
   /* Assign the first task in the task queue to the worker and mark the worker
@@ -342,19 +342,21 @@ bool dispatch_actor_task(LocalSchedulerState *state,
   return true;
 }
 
-void handle_actor_worker_connect(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                                 SchedulingAlgorithmState *algorithm_state,
-                                 ActorID actor_id,
-                                 LocalSchedulerClient *worker) {
+void handle_convert_worker_to_actor(
+    LocalSchedulerState *state,
+    SchedulingAlgorithmState *algorithm_state,
+    const ActorID &actor_id,
+    const ObjectID &initial_execution_dependency,
+    LocalSchedulerClient *worker) {
   if (algorithm_state->local_actor_infos.count(actor_id) == 0) {
-    create_actor(algorithm_state, actor_id, worker);
+    create_actor(algorithm_state, actor_id, initial_execution_dependency,
+                 worker);
   } else {
     /* In this case, the LocalActorInfo struct was already been created by the
      * first call to add_task_to_actor_queue. However, the worker field was not
      * filled out, so fill out the correct worker field now. */
     algorithm_state->local_actor_infos[actor_id].worker = worker;
   }
-  dispatch_actor_task(state, algorithm_state, actor_id);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -420,14 +422,6 @@ void insert_actor_task_queue(LocalSchedulerState *state,
     return;
   }
 
-  /* Handle the case in which there is no LocalActorInfo struct yet. */
-  if (algorithm_state->local_actor_infos.count(actor_id) == 0) {
-    /* Create the actor struct with a NULL worker because the worker struct has
-     * not been created yet. The correct worker struct will be inserted when the
-     * actor worker connects to the local scheduler. */
-    create_actor(algorithm_state, actor_id, NULL);
-    RAY_CHECK(algorithm_state->local_actor_infos.count(actor_id) == 1);
-  }
   LocalActorInfo &entry =
       algorithm_state->local_actor_infos.find(actor_id)->second;
   if (entry.task_counters.count(task_handle_id) == 0) {
@@ -799,6 +793,40 @@ int reconstruct_object_timeout_handler(event_loop *loop,
       .local_scheduler_reconstruction_timeout_milliseconds();
 }
 
+int rerun_actor_creation_tasks_timeout_handler(event_loop *loop,
+                                               timer_id id,
+                                               void *context) {
+  int64_t start_time = current_time_ms();
+
+  LocalSchedulerState *state = (LocalSchedulerState *) context;
+
+  // Create a set of the dummy object IDs for the actor creation tasks to
+  // reconstruct.
+  std::unordered_set<ObjectID, UniqueIDHasher> actor_dummy_objects;
+  for (auto const &execution_spec :
+       state->algorithm_state->cached_submitted_actor_tasks) {
+    ObjectID actor_creation_dummy_object_id =
+        TaskSpec_actor_creation_dummy_object_id(execution_spec.Spec());
+    actor_dummy_objects.insert(actor_creation_dummy_object_id);
+  }
+
+  // Issue reconstruct calls.
+  for (auto const &object_id : actor_dummy_objects) {
+    reconstruct_object(state, object_id);
+  }
+
+  // Print a warning if this method took too long.
+  int64_t end_time = current_time_ms();
+  if (end_time - start_time >
+      RayConfig::instance().max_time_for_handler_milliseconds()) {
+    RAY_LOG(WARNING) << "reconstruct_object_timeout_handler took "
+                     << end_time - start_time << " milliseconds.";
+  }
+
+  return RayConfig::instance()
+      .local_scheduler_reconstruction_timeout_milliseconds();
+}
+
 /**
  * Return true if there are still some resources available and false otherwise.
  *
@@ -855,7 +883,7 @@ void dispatch_tasks(LocalSchedulerState *state,
       if (state->child_pids.size() == 0) {
         /* If there are no workers, including those pending PID registration,
          * then we must start a new one to replenish the worker pool. */
-        start_worker(state, ActorID::nil(), false);
+        start_worker(state);
       }
       return;
     }
@@ -904,10 +932,9 @@ void dispatch_all_tasks(LocalSchedulerState *state,
   /* Attempt to dispatch actor tasks. */
   auto it = algorithm_state->actors_with_pending_tasks.begin();
   while (it != algorithm_state->actors_with_pending_tasks.end()) {
-    /* Terminate early if there are no more resources available. */
-    if (!resources_available(state)) {
-      break;
-    }
+    // We cannot short-circuit and exit here if there are no resources
+    // available because actor methods may require 0 CPUs.
+
     /* We increment the iterator ahead of time because the call to
      * dispatch_actor_task may invalidate the current iterator. */
     ActorID actor_id = *it;
@@ -1078,18 +1105,46 @@ void give_task_to_local_scheduler_retry(UniqueID id,
   RAY_CHECK(TaskSpec_is_actor_task(spec));
 
   ActorID actor_id = TaskSpec_actor_id(spec);
-  RAY_CHECK(state->actor_mapping.count(actor_id) == 1);
 
-  if (state->actor_mapping[actor_id].local_scheduler_id ==
-      get_db_client_id(state->db)) {
-    /* The task is now scheduled to us. Call the callback directly. */
-    handle_task_scheduled(state, state->algorithm_state, *execution_spec);
-  } else {
-    /* The task is scheduled to a remote local scheduler. Try to hand it to
-     * them again. */
+  if (state->actor_mapping.count(actor_id) == 0) {
+    // Process the actor task submission again. This will cache the task
+    // locally until a new actor creation notification is broadcast. We will
+    // attempt to reissue the actor creation tasks for all cached actor tasks
+    // in rerun_actor_creation_tasks_timeout_handler.
+    handle_actor_task_submitted(state, state->algorithm_state, *execution_spec);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  DBClientID remote_local_scheduler_id =
+      state->actor_mapping[actor_id].local_scheduler_id;
+
+  // TODO(rkn): db_client_table_cache_get is a blocking call, is this a
+  // performance issue?
+  DBClient remote_local_scheduler =
+      db_client_table_cache_get(state->db, remote_local_scheduler_id);
+
+  // Check if the local scheduler that we're assigning this task to is still
+  // alive.
+  if (remote_local_scheduler.is_alive) {
+    // The local scheduler is still alive, which means that perhaps it hasn't
+    // subscribed to the appropriate channel yet, so retrying should suffice.
+    // This should be rare.
     give_task_to_local_scheduler(
         state, state->algorithm_state, *execution_spec,
         state->actor_mapping[actor_id].local_scheduler_id);
+  } else {
+    // The local scheduler is dead, so we will need to recreate the actor by
+    // invoking reconstruction.
+    RAY_LOG(INFO) << "Local scheduler " << remote_local_scheduler_id
+                  << " that was running actor " << actor_id << " died.";
+    RAY_CHECK(state->actor_mapping.count(actor_id) == 1);
+    // Update the actor mapping.
+    state->actor_mapping.erase(actor_id);
+    // Process the actor task submission again. This will cache the task
+    // locally until a new actor creation notification is broadcast. We will
+    // attempt to reissue the actor creation tasks for all cached actor tasks
+    // in rerun_actor_creation_tasks_timeout_handler.
+    handle_actor_task_submitted(state, state->algorithm_state, *execution_spec);
   }
 }
 
@@ -1188,6 +1243,12 @@ bool resource_constraints_satisfied(LocalSchedulerState *state,
       return false;
     }
   }
+
+  if (TaskSpec_is_actor_creation_task(spec) &&
+      state->static_resources["CPU"] != 0) {
+    return false;
+  }
+
   return true;
 }
 
@@ -1199,10 +1260,10 @@ void handle_task_submitted(LocalSchedulerState *state,
    * resource is currently unavailable, then consider queueing task locally and
    * recheck dynamic next time. */
 
-  /* If this task's constraints are satisfied, dependencies are available
-   * locally, and there is an available worker, then enqueue the task in the
-   * dispatch queue and trigger task dispatch. Otherwise, pass the task along to
-   * the global scheduler if there is one. */
+  // If this task's constraints are satisfied, dependencies are available
+  // locally, and there is an available worker, then enqueue the task in the
+  // dispatch queue and trigger task dispatch. Otherwise, pass the task along to
+  // the global scheduler if there is one.
   if (resource_constraints_satisfied(state, spec) &&
       (algorithm_state->available_workers.size() > 0) &&
       can_run(algorithm_state, execution_spec)) {
@@ -1224,6 +1285,11 @@ void handle_actor_task_submitted(LocalSchedulerState *state,
   ActorID actor_id = TaskSpec_actor_id(task_spec);
 
   if (state->actor_mapping.count(actor_id) == 0) {
+    // Create a copy of the task to write to the task table.
+    Task *task = Task_alloc(
+        task_spec, execution_spec.SpecSize(), TASK_STATUS_ACTOR_CACHED,
+        get_db_client_id(state->db), execution_spec.ExecutionDependencies());
+
     /* Add this task to a queue of tasks that have been submitted but the local
      * scheduler doesn't know which actor is responsible for them. These tasks
      * will be resubmitted (internally by the local scheduler) whenever a new
@@ -1232,6 +1298,18 @@ void handle_actor_task_submitted(LocalSchedulerState *state,
     TaskExecutionSpec task_entry = TaskExecutionSpec(&execution_spec);
     algorithm_state->cached_submitted_actor_tasks.push_back(
         std::move(task_entry));
+
+#if !RAY_USE_NEW_GCS
+    // Even if the task can't be assigned to a worker yet, we should still write
+    // it to the task table. TODO(rkn): There's no need to do this more than
+    // once, and we could run into problems if we have very large numbers of
+    // tasks in this cache.
+    task_table_add_task(state->db, task, NULL, NULL, NULL);
+#else
+    RAY_CHECK_OK(TaskTableAdd(&state->gcs_client, task));
+    Task_free(task);
+#endif
+
     return;
   }
 
@@ -1255,8 +1333,7 @@ void handle_actor_task_submitted(LocalSchedulerState *state,
 void handle_actor_creation_notification(
     LocalSchedulerState *state,
     SchedulingAlgorithmState *algorithm_state,
-    ActorID actor_id,
-    bool reconstruct) {
+    ActorID actor_id) {
   int num_cached_actor_tasks =
       algorithm_state->cached_submitted_actor_tasks.size();
 
@@ -1281,7 +1358,12 @@ void handle_task_scheduled(LocalSchedulerState *state,
    * the database. */
   RAY_CHECK(state->db != NULL);
   RAY_CHECK(state->config.global_scheduler_exists);
-  /* Push the task to the appropriate queue. */
+
+  // Currently, the global scheduler will never assign a task to a local
+  // scheduler that has 0 CPUs.
+  RAY_CHECK(state->static_resources["CPU"] != 0);
+
+  // Push the task to the appropriate queue.
   queue_task_locally(state, algorithm_state, execution_spec, true);
   dispatch_tasks(state, algorithm_state);
 }
@@ -1652,6 +1734,18 @@ void handle_driver_removed(LocalSchedulerState *state,
     }
   }
 
+  // Remove this driver's tasks from the cached actor tasks. Note that this loop
+  // could be very slow if the vector of cached actor tasks is very long.
+  for (auto it = algorithm_state->cached_submitted_actor_tasks.begin();
+       it != algorithm_state->cached_submitted_actor_tasks.end();) {
+    TaskSpec *spec = (*it).Spec();
+    if (TaskSpec_driver_id(spec) == driver_id) {
+      it = algorithm_state->cached_submitted_actor_tasks.erase(it);
+    } else {
+      ++it;
+    }
+  }
+
   /* TODO(rkn): Should we clean up the actor data structures? */
 }
 
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.h b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.h
index 0e3f2eb70..6ad0558c3 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.h
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_algorithm.h
@@ -76,14 +76,12 @@ void handle_actor_task_submitted(LocalSchedulerState *state,
  * @param state The state of the local scheduler.
  * @param algorithm_state State maintained by the scheduling algorithm.
  * @param actor_id The ID of the actor being created.
- * @param reconstruct True if the actor is being created in "reconstruct" mode.
  * @return Void.
  */
 void handle_actor_creation_notification(
     LocalSchedulerState *state,
     SchedulingAlgorithmState *algorithm_state,
-    ActorID actor_id,
-    bool reconstruct);
+    ActorID actor_id);
 
 /**
  * This function will be called when a task is assigned by the global scheduler
@@ -177,13 +175,17 @@ void handle_actor_worker_available(LocalSchedulerState *state,
  * @param state The state of the local scheduler.
  * @param algorithm_state State maintained by the scheduling algorithm.
  * @param actor_id The ID of the actor running on the worker.
- * @param worker The worker that was connected.
+ * @param initial_execution_dependency The dummy object ID of the actor
+ *        creation task.
+ * @param worker The worker that was converted to an actor.
  * @return Void.
  */
-void handle_actor_worker_connect(LocalSchedulerState *state,
-                                 SchedulingAlgorithmState *algorithm_state,
-                                 ActorID actor_id,
-                                 LocalSchedulerClient *worker);
+void handle_convert_worker_to_actor(
+    LocalSchedulerState *state,
+    SchedulingAlgorithmState *algorithm_state,
+    const ActorID &actor_id,
+    const ObjectID &initial_execution_dependency,
+    LocalSchedulerClient *worker);
 
 /**
  * Handle the fact that a worker running an actor has disconnected.
@@ -292,6 +294,19 @@ int fetch_object_timeout_handler(event_loop *loop, timer_id id, void *context);
 int reconstruct_object_timeout_handler(event_loop *loop,
                                        timer_id id,
                                        void *context);
+
+/// This function initiates reconstruction for the actor creation tasks
+/// corresponding to the actor tasks cached in the local scheduler.
+///
+/// \param loop The local scheduler's event loop.
+/// \param id The ID of the timer that triggers this function.
+/// \param context The function's context.
+/// \return An integer representing the time interval in seconds before the
+/// next invocation of the function.
+int rerun_actor_creation_tasks_timeout_handler(event_loop *loop,
+                                               timer_id id,
+                                               void *context);
+
 /**
  * Check whether an object, including actor dummy objects, is locally
  * available.
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_client.cc b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_client.cc
index 203d6cd26..cff4c1e23 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_client.cc
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_client.cc
@@ -12,49 +12,22 @@
 LocalSchedulerConnection *LocalSchedulerConnection_init(
     const char *local_scheduler_socket,
     UniqueID client_id,
-    ActorID actor_id,
-    bool is_worker,
-    int64_t num_gpus) {
+    bool is_worker) {
   LocalSchedulerConnection *result = new LocalSchedulerConnection();
   result->conn = connect_ipc_sock_retry(local_scheduler_socket, -1, -1);
-  result->actor_id = actor_id;
 
   /* Register with the local scheduler.
    * NOTE(swang): If the local scheduler exits and we are registered as a
    * worker, we will get killed. */
   flatbuffers::FlatBufferBuilder fbb;
   auto message = CreateRegisterClientRequest(
-      fbb, is_worker, to_flatbuf(fbb, client_id),
-      to_flatbuf(fbb, result->actor_id), getpid(), num_gpus);
+      fbb, is_worker, to_flatbuf(fbb, client_id), getpid());
   fbb.Finish(message);
   /* Register the process ID with the local scheduler. */
   int success = write_message(result->conn, MessageType_RegisterClientRequest,
                               fbb.GetSize(), fbb.GetBufferPointer());
   RAY_CHECK(success == 0) << "Unable to register worker with local scheduler";
 
-  /* Wait for a confirmation from the local scheduler. */
-  int64_t type;
-  int64_t reply_size;
-  uint8_t *reply;
-  read_message(result->conn, &type, &reply_size, &reply);
-  if (type == DISCONNECT_CLIENT) {
-    RAY_LOG(DEBUG) << "Exiting because local scheduler closed connection.";
-    exit(1);
-  }
-  RAY_CHECK(type == MessageType_RegisterClientReply);
-
-  /* Parse the reply object. */
-  auto reply_message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<RegisterClientReply>(reply);
-  for (size_t i = 0; i < reply_message->gpu_ids()->size(); ++i) {
-    result->gpu_ids.push_back(reply_message->gpu_ids()->Get(i));
-  }
-  /* If the worker is not an actor, there should not be any GPU IDs here. */
-  if (ActorID_equal(result->actor_id, ActorID::nil())) {
-    RAY_CHECK(reply_message->gpu_ids()->size() == 0);
-  }
-
-  free(reply);
-
   return result;
 }
 
@@ -119,20 +92,21 @@ TaskSpec *local_scheduler_get_task(LocalSchedulerConnection *conn,
   /* Parse the flatbuffer object. */
   auto reply_message = flatbuffers::GetRoot<GetTaskReply>(reply);
 
-  /* Set the GPU IDs for this task. We only do this for non-actor tasks because
-   * for actors the GPUs are associated with the actor itself and not with the
-   * actor methods. */
-  if (ActorID_equal(conn->actor_id, ActorID::nil())) {
+  /* Create a copy of the task spec so we can free the reply. */
+  *task_size = reply_message->task_spec()->size();
+  TaskSpec *data = (TaskSpec *) reply_message->task_spec()->data();
+  TaskSpec *spec = TaskSpec_copy(data, *task_size);
+
+  // Set the GPU IDs for this task. We only do this for non-actor tasks because
+  // for actors the GPUs are associated with the actor itself and not with the
+  // actor methods. Note that this also processes GPUs for actor creation tasks.
+  if (!TaskSpec_is_actor_task(spec)) {
     conn->gpu_ids.clear();
     for (size_t i = 0; i < reply_message->gpu_ids()->size(); ++i) {
       conn->gpu_ids.push_back(reply_message->gpu_ids()->Get(i));
     }
   }
 
-  /* Create a copy of the task spec so we can free the reply. */
-  *task_size = reply_message->task_spec()->size();
-  TaskSpec *data = (TaskSpec *) reply_message->task_spec()->data();
-  TaskSpec *spec = TaskSpec_copy(data, *task_size);
   /* Free the original message from the local scheduler. */
   free(reply);
   /* Return the copy of the task spec and pass ownership to the caller. */
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_client.h b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_client.h
index 271e00ec6..f9bffc18d 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_client.h
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_client.h
@@ -8,9 +8,6 @@ struct LocalSchedulerConnection {
   /** File descriptor of the Unix domain socket that connects to local
    *  scheduler. */
   int conn;
-  /** The actor ID of this client. If this client is not an actor, then this
-   *  should be NIL_ACTOR_ID. */
-  ActorID actor_id;
   /** The IDs of the GPUs that this client can use. */
   std::vector<int> gpu_ids;
 };
@@ -20,20 +17,14 @@ struct LocalSchedulerConnection {
  *
  * @param local_scheduler_socket The name of the socket to use to connect to the
  *        local scheduler.
- * @param actor_id The ID of the actor running on this worker. If no actor is
- *        running on this actor, this should be NIL_ACTOR_ID.
  * @param is_worker Whether this client is a worker. If it is a worker, an
  *        additional message will be sent to register as one.
- * @param num_gpus The number of GPUs required by this worker. This is only
- *        used if the worker is an actor.
  * @return The connection information.
  */
 LocalSchedulerConnection *LocalSchedulerConnection_init(
     const char *local_scheduler_socket,
     UniqueID worker_id,
-    ActorID actor_id,
-    bool is_worker,
-    int64_t num_gpus);
+    bool is_worker);
 
 /**
  * Disconnect from the local scheduler.
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_extension.cc b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_extension.cc
index 0360c3c8a..ae91c1a8e 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_extension.cc
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/local_scheduler_extension.cc
@@ -19,19 +19,15 @@ static int PyLocalSchedulerClient_init(PyLocalSchedulerClient *self,
                                        PyObject *kwds) {
   char *socket_name;
   UniqueID client_id;
-  ActorID actor_id;
   PyObject *is_worker;
-  int num_gpus;
-  if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "sO&O&Oi", &socket_name, PyStringToUniqueID,
-                        &client_id, PyStringToUniqueID, &actor_id, &is_worker,
-                        &num_gpus)) {
+  if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "sO&O", &socket_name, PyStringToUniqueID,
+                        &client_id, &is_worker)) {
     self->local_scheduler_connection = NULL;
     return -1;
   }
   /* Connect to the local scheduler. */
   self->local_scheduler_connection = LocalSchedulerConnection_init(
-      socket_name, client_id, actor_id, (bool) PyObject_IsTrue(is_worker),
-      num_gpus);
+      socket_name, client_id, (bool) PyObject_IsTrue(is_worker));
   return 0;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/local_scheduler/test/local_scheduler_tests.cc b/src/local_scheduler/test/local_scheduler_tests.cc
index f9b144db0..ba10e2a35 100644
--- a/src/local_scheduler/test/local_scheduler_tests.cc
+++ b/src/local_scheduler/test/local_scheduler_tests.cc
@@ -124,9 +124,8 @@ LocalSchedulerMock *LocalSchedulerMock_init(int num_workers,
       std::thread(register_clients, num_mock_workers, mock);
 
   for (int i = 0; i < num_mock_workers; ++i) {
-    mock->conns[i] =
-        LocalSchedulerConnection_init(local_scheduler_socket_name.c_str(),
-                                      WorkerID::nil(), ActorID::nil(), true, 0);
+    mock->conns[i] = LocalSchedulerConnection_init(
+        local_scheduler_socket_name.c_str(), WorkerID::nil(), true);
   }
 
   background_thread.join();
@@ -666,7 +665,7 @@ TEST start_kill_workers_test(void) {
             static_cast<size_t>(num_workers - 1));
 
   /* Start a worker after the local scheduler has been initialized. */
-  start_worker(local_scheduler->local_scheduler_state, ActorID::nil(), false);
+  start_worker(local_scheduler->local_scheduler_state);
   /* Accept the workers as clients to the plasma manager. */
   int new_worker_fd = accept_client(local_scheduler->plasma_manager_fd);
   /* The new worker should register its process ID. */
diff --git a/src/ray/raylet/task_spec.cc b/src/ray/raylet/task_spec.cc
index e7d92a95d..285d1c91f 100644
--- a/src/ray/raylet/task_spec.cc
+++ b/src/ray/raylet/task_spec.cc
@@ -104,7 +104,8 @@ TaskSpecification::TaskSpecification(
   // Serialize the TaskSpecification.
   auto spec = CreateTaskInfo(
       fbb, to_flatbuf(fbb, driver_id), to_flatbuf(fbb, task_id),
-      to_flatbuf(fbb, parent_task_id), parent_counter, to_flatbuf(fbb, WorkerID::nil()),
+      to_flatbuf(fbb, parent_task_id), parent_counter, to_flatbuf(fbb, ActorID::nil()),
+      to_flatbuf(fbb, ActorID::nil()), to_flatbuf(fbb, WorkerID::nil()),
       to_flatbuf(fbb, ActorHandleID::nil()), 0, false, to_flatbuf(fbb, function_id),
       fbb.CreateVector(arguments), fbb.CreateVector(returns),
       map_to_flatbuf(fbb, required_resources));
diff --git a/test/actor_test.py b/test/actor_test.py
index 18f4de2cb..c1544c8f1 100644
--- a/test/actor_test.py
+++ b/test/actor_test.py
@@ -369,15 +369,7 @@ class ActorMethods(unittest.TestCase):
             # If we can successfully create an actor, that means that enough
             # GPU resources are available.
             a = Actor.remote()
-            pid = ray.get(a.getpid.remote())
-
-            # Make sure that we can't create another actor.
-            with self.assertRaises(Exception):
-                Actor.remote()
-
-            # Let the actor go out of scope, and wait for it to exit.
-            a = None
-            ray.test.test_utils.wait_for_pid_to_exit(pid)
+            ray.get(a.getpid.remote())
 
     def testActorState(self):
         ray.init()
@@ -691,11 +683,12 @@ class ActorsOnMultipleNodes(unittest.TestCase):
 
         @ray.remote
         class Foo(object):
-            def __init__(self):
+            def method(self):
                 pass
 
-        with self.assertRaises(Exception):
-            Foo.remote()
+        f = Foo.remote()
+        ready_ids, _ = ray.wait([f.method.remote()], timeout=100)
+        self.assertEquals(ready_ids, [])
 
     def testActorLoadBalancing(self):
         num_local_schedulers = 3
@@ -752,6 +745,7 @@ class ActorsWithGPUs(unittest.TestCase):
         ray.worker._init(
             start_ray_local=True, num_workers=0,
             num_local_schedulers=num_local_schedulers,
+            num_cpus=(num_local_schedulers * [10 * num_gpus_per_scheduler]),
             num_gpus=(num_local_schedulers * [num_gpus_per_scheduler]))
 
         @ray.remote(num_gpus=1)
@@ -782,8 +776,9 @@ class ActorsWithGPUs(unittest.TestCase):
 
         # Creating a new actor should fail because all of the GPUs are being
         # used.
-        with self.assertRaises(Exception):
-            Actor1.remote()
+        a = Actor1.remote()
+        ready_ids, _ = ray.wait([a.get_location_and_ids.remote()], timeout=10)
+        self.assertEqual(ready_ids, [])
 
     def testActorMultipleGPUs(self):
         num_local_schedulers = 3
@@ -791,6 +786,7 @@ class ActorsWithGPUs(unittest.TestCase):
         ray.worker._init(
             start_ray_local=True, num_workers=0,
             num_local_schedulers=num_local_schedulers,
+            num_cpus=(num_local_schedulers * [10 * num_gpus_per_scheduler]),
             num_gpus=(num_local_schedulers * [num_gpus_per_scheduler]))
 
         @ray.remote(num_gpus=2)
@@ -799,6 +795,7 @@ class ActorsWithGPUs(unittest.TestCase):
                 self.gpu_ids = ray.get_gpu_ids()
 
             def get_location_and_ids(self):
+                assert ray.get_gpu_ids() == self.gpu_ids
                 return (
                     ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name,
                     tuple(self.gpu_ids))
@@ -820,8 +817,9 @@ class ActorsWithGPUs(unittest.TestCase):
 
         # Creating a new actor should fail because all of the GPUs are being
         # used.
-        with self.assertRaises(Exception):
-            Actor1.remote()
+        a = Actor1.remote()
+        ready_ids, _ = ray.wait([a.get_location_and_ids.remote()], timeout=10)
+        self.assertEqual(ready_ids, [])
 
         # We should be able to create more actors that use only a single GPU.
         @ray.remote(num_gpus=1)
@@ -850,14 +848,16 @@ class ActorsWithGPUs(unittest.TestCase):
 
         # Creating a new actor should fail because all of the GPUs are being
         # used.
-        with self.assertRaises(Exception):
-            Actor2.remote()
+        a = Actor2.remote()
+        ready_ids, _ = ray.wait([a.get_location_and_ids.remote()], timeout=10)
+        self.assertEqual(ready_ids, [])
 
     def testActorDifferentNumbersOfGPUs(self):
         # Test that we can create actors on two nodes that have different
         # numbers of GPUs.
         ray.worker._init(start_ray_local=True, num_workers=0,
-                         num_local_schedulers=3, num_gpus=[0, 5, 10])
+                         num_local_schedulers=3, num_cpus=[10, 10, 10],
+                         num_gpus=[0, 5, 10])
 
         @ray.remote(num_gpus=1)
         class Actor1(object):
@@ -885,8 +885,9 @@ class ActorsWithGPUs(unittest.TestCase):
 
         # Creating a new actor should fail because all of the GPUs are being
         # used.
-        with self.assertRaises(Exception):
-            Actor1.remote()
+        a = Actor1.remote()
+        ready_ids, _ = ray.wait([a.get_location_and_ids.remote()], timeout=10)
+        self.assertEqual(ready_ids, [])
 
     def testActorMultipleGPUsFromMultipleTasks(self):
         num_local_schedulers = 10
@@ -894,6 +895,7 @@ class ActorsWithGPUs(unittest.TestCase):
         ray.worker._init(
             start_ray_local=True, num_workers=0,
             num_local_schedulers=num_local_schedulers, redirect_output=True,
+            num_cpus=(num_local_schedulers * [10 * num_gpus_per_scheduler]),
             num_gpus=(num_local_schedulers * [num_gpus_per_scheduler]))
 
         @ray.remote
@@ -925,8 +927,9 @@ class ActorsWithGPUs(unittest.TestCase):
                     tuple(self.gpu_ids))
 
         # All the GPUs should be used up now.
-        with self.assertRaises(Exception):
-            Actor.remote()
+        a = Actor.remote()
+        ready_ids, _ = ray.wait([a.get_location_and_ids.remote()], timeout=10)
+        self.assertEqual(ready_ids, [])
 
     @unittest.skipIf(sys.version_info < (3, 0), "This test requires Python 3.")
     def testActorsAndTasksWithGPUs(self):
@@ -1792,16 +1795,39 @@ class DistributedActorHandles(unittest.TestCase):
         #     ray.get(g.remote())
 
 
-@unittest.skip("Actor placement currently does not use custom resources.")
-class ActorPlacement(unittest.TestCase):
+class ActorPlacementAndResources(unittest.TestCase):
 
     def tearDown(self):
         ray.worker.cleanup()
 
+    def testLifetimeAndTransientResources(self):
+        ray.init(num_cpus=1)
+
+        # This actor acquires resources only when running methods.
+        @ray.remote
+        class Actor1(object):
+            def method(self):
+                pass
+
+        # This actor acquires resources for its lifetime.
+        @ray.remote(num_cpus=1)
+        class Actor2(object):
+            def method(self):
+                pass
+
+        actor1s = [Actor1.remote() for _ in range(10)]
+        ray.get([a.method.remote() for a in actor1s])
+
+        actor2s = [Actor2.remote() for _ in range(2)]
+        results = [a.method.remote() for a in actor2s]
+        ready_ids, remaining_ids = ray.wait(results, num_returns=len(results),
+                                            timeout=1000)
+        self.assertEqual(len(ready_ids), 1)
+
     def testCustomLabelPlacement(self):
         ray.worker._init(start_ray_local=True, num_local_schedulers=2,
-                         num_workers=0, resources=[{"CustomResource1": 10},
-                                                   {"CustomResource2": 10}])
+                         num_workers=0, resources=[{"CustomResource1": 2},
+                                                   {"CustomResource2": 2}])
 
         @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource1": 1})
         class ResourceActor1(object):
@@ -1816,8 +1842,8 @@ class ActorPlacement(unittest.TestCase):
         local_plasma = ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
 
         # Create some actors.
-        actors1 = [ResourceActor1.remote() for _ in range(10)]
-        actors2 = [ResourceActor2.remote() for _ in range(10)]
+        actors1 = [ResourceActor1.remote() for _ in range(2)]
+        actors2 = [ResourceActor2.remote() for _ in range(2)]
         locations1 = ray.get([a.get_location.remote() for a in actors1])
         locations2 = ray.get([a.get_location.remote() for a in actors2])
         for location in locations1:
@@ -1825,6 +1851,54 @@ class ActorPlacement(unittest.TestCase):
         for location in locations2:
             self.assertNotEqual(location, local_plasma)
 
+    def testCreatingMoreActorsThanResources(self):
+        ray.init(num_workers=0, num_cpus=10, num_gpus=2,
+                 resources={"CustomResource1": 1})
+
+        @ray.remote(num_gpus=1)
+        class ResourceActor1(object):
+            def method(self):
+                return ray.get_gpu_ids()[0]
+
+        @ray.remote(resources={"CustomResource1": 1})
+        class ResourceActor2(object):
+            def method(self):
+                pass
+
+        # Make sure the first two actors get created and the third one does
+        # not.
+        actor1 = ResourceActor1.remote()
+        result1 = actor1.method.remote()
+        ray.wait([result1])
+        actor2 = ResourceActor1.remote()
+        result2 = actor2.method.remote()
+        ray.wait([result2])
+        actor3 = ResourceActor1.remote()
+        result3 = actor3.method.remote()
+        ready_ids, _ = ray.wait([result3], timeout=200)
+        self.assertEqual(len(ready_ids), 0)
+
+        # By deleting actor1, we free up resources to create actor3.
+        del actor1
+
+        results = ray.get([result1, result2, result3])
+        self.assertEqual(results[0], results[2])
+        self.assertEqual(set(results), set([0, 1]))
+
+        # Make sure that when one actor goes out of scope a new actor is
+        # created because some resources have been freed up.
+        results = []
+        for _ in range(3):
+            actor = ResourceActor2.remote()
+            object_id = actor.method.remote()
+            results.append(object_id)
+            # Wait for the task to execute. We do this because otherwise it may
+            # be possible for the __ray_terminate__ task to execute before the
+            # method.
+            ray.wait([object_id])
+
+        ray.get(results)
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main(verbosity=2)
diff --git a/test/jenkins_tests/multi_node_tests/many_drivers_test.py b/test/jenkins_tests/multi_node_tests/many_drivers_test.py
index cc73d325b..f4b50aa8b 100644
--- a/test/jenkins_tests/multi_node_tests/many_drivers_test.py
+++ b/test/jenkins_tests/multi_node_tests/many_drivers_test.py
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ max_concurrent_drivers = 15
 num_gpus_per_driver = 5
 
 
-@ray.remote(num_gpus=1)
+@ray.remote(num_cpus=0, num_gpus=1)
 class Actor1(object):
     def __init__(self):
         assert len(ray.get_gpu_ids()) == 1
diff --git a/test/runtest.py b/test/runtest.py
index 04d0ada38..8af10f50d 100644
--- a/test/runtest.py
+++ b/test/runtest.py
@@ -1357,6 +1357,28 @@ class ResourcesTest(unittest.TestCase):
         a1 = Actor1.remote()
         ray.get(a1.test.remote())
 
+    def testZeroCPUs(self):
+        ray.worker._init(
+            start_ray_local=True,
+            num_local_schedulers=2,
+            num_cpus=[0, 2])
+
+        local_plasma = ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        @ray.remote(num_cpus=0)
+        def f():
+            return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        @ray.remote
+        class Foo(object):
+            def method(self):
+                return ray.worker.global_worker.plasma_client.store_socket_name
+
+        # Make sure tasks and actors run on the remote local scheduler.
+        self.assertNotEqual(ray.get(f.remote()), local_plasma)
+        a = Foo.remote()
+        self.assertNotEqual(ray.get(a.method.remote()), local_plasma)
+
     def testMultipleLocalSchedulers(self):
         # This test will define a bunch of tasks that can only be assigned to
         # specific local schedulers, and we will check that they are assigned