Abstract: The disclosure relates to an actuating mechanism (1) for actuating a vehicle door, in particular a vehicle exterior door. The actuating mechanism (1) comprises a manually actuatable handle part (2), which can be transferred between a home position in which the handle part (2) is preferably completely recessed in the vehicle shell and an actuating position in which the handle part (2) at least partially or regionally protrudes out of the vehicle shell such that a gripping region is created between the handle part (2) and an exterior of the vehicle, into which the hand of a user can be at least partially inserted; and. The actuating mechanism (1) includes an actuator (3), which is associated with the handle part (2) and is configured so as to transfer the handle part (2) from its home position into its actuating position and vice versa, as needed.