Acting Resume Sample

Here’s how to write an acting resume format in a few simple steps. Read along and you’ll attain the knowledge necessary to write your own Oscar-winning resume.

Writing an actor or actress resume is slightly different from writing a “normal” resume. However, most of the basic information will remain the same. The information in this guide is written in order for your convenience, which is good because according to a recent study Harvard study found that it might be best to get your acting career started before the age of 30 if you ever hope to become famous.

1. Include a Headshot in Your Resume

First of all, every acting resume requires a professionally photographed headshot. A headshot is normally a photograph of your face or upper body. Its purpose is to capture your personality and give a strong impression of the emotion you want to convey to the hiring agent. It MUST be professionally taken, because an amateur photograph will look flat, bland, and unappealing.

Hiring agents are looking for TYPES of people to hire, and a well-done headshot will give you a much higher chance of getting an audition.

2. Contact Details

All resume formats begin with contact details – otherwise your potential employer will have no way of contacting you! If you are on a location consider using a location specific address, as you’ll be more likely to be hired if the production company knows you are close and won’t have to travel to work.

• First Name – Surname (keep your stage name where it belongs, on the stage)
• Your permanent address (again, unless staying on-location, then add your temporary residence)
• Telephone and cell phone numbers (and make sure to keep that phone battery charged!)
• E-mail address (keep it classy and professional…not “Pacinolover77@gmail.com” or anything crazy)
• Your IMDB Profile (if you have one)

3. Personal Information

Despite including a headshot in your resume, you’ll still need to describe what you look like. Don’t fudge any of your statistics, as these will be closely scrutinized by casting agents and if it’s found out you don’t match claimed statistics you may lose that job and any chance of working with affiliated companies in the future. So, with that in mind, here is what to include:

• Date of Birth
• Race
• Hair Color
• Eye Color
• Height
• Weight

This information can be written in a single line at the top, under your contact details. You may want to consider printing your resume on the backside of your headshot. If going this route you will want to make sure to use particularly high quality paper, printed at a copy shop or photo center so that the head shot is of high quality and the resume is properly situated on the backside of the page.

4. Acting Experience

This section should be written use the traditional resume format, meaning that the most recent experience should be placed at the top. However, your acting experience should also be separated into sections, determined by the types of media that you acted in. So, if your most recent experience was in film, then all of your film experience will be written at the top, even if some of that experience might be older than your television or theater experience. In the picture below, we’ve put a red square around how you should section these parts.

Your acting resume should only take up ONE PAGE, so if you have a ton of acting experience include only partial lists of your most recent experiences from each type of media.

Each part should include: The production title, the director’s name, and the character you played. We’ve highlighted these parts in yellow below. The year that you were in the production is NOT required!

5. Awards

If you have won any awards, definitely include them in your resume. Include who was giving the award, what the award was given for, and the year that you won it.

IE: Golden Globes Award for Best Actress 2012

6. Additional Skills

It never hurts to write in your additional skills! Are you bilingual, or have some background in dancing, or learned how to juggle at some point? Include that information – the more flexible you are, the more likely you’ll get called in for an audition.

You should know that a lot of resumes are screened by software (called applicant tracking systems) that looks for keywords related to the job you’re applying for. In other words, the “Additional Skills” section can be used to help get past these robotic screeners.

7. Training / Education

You spent a lot of time getting your education or going through training, so don’t be bashful about including it. Unless you’re a well-known actor, this section is important. A training section makes directors more likely to take you seriously, because they know you’ve gone through a rigorous process and are familiar with the industry standards.

Read this informative page to write the best education section possible.

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