Actor Resume Tips

A Resume

As an actor, it is important to have a great resume. Actors must also know the industry format required for this type of resume. It varies greatly from the standard corporate resume. If it is not in the industry format, it will be flagged as "amateur." If this happens, the actor's picture and resume will most certainly end up in the the trash. Tips from another professional actor, acting websites and samples are the best way to avoid this pitfall.

Your Experience

Before you start, make sure you have all the pertinent information you need. Make a list of all the work you have done whether it is in short films, student projects, theater or studio films and television work. Once you have all the titles of the projects, including production companies and directors, you are ready to start.

The Standard

An actor resume never has an address on it. Also no one cares about your objective---they know actors want work! Your name is at the top in the center of the page. Bold the font and usually capitalize it or use small caps. Larger font works well here. Directly under your name, you will list your union memberships. The three ruling unions are Screen Actors Guild which you will list as SAG, The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists listed as AFTRA and American Equity Association (the theater union) which you will list as AEA. These are all professional unions that you must join once you begin working professionally. These are the only unions you will list under your name. The exception would be ACTRA which is the Canadian union. Do not list these unless you are a card carrying member! Under the union you will list your phone number, centered. You may also include your actor website if you have one. Bold all of these just like your name although the font should be reduced significantly. So if your name is in 18 font, you might try using 14 font for the unions, number and website. The rest of the resume contents is usually in 12 font or 14 maximum.

Formatting

The resume is split into several sections for which you will have headers. These are capitalized, bold and underlined and flush left.

Section 1: Theater
Section 2: Film
Section 3: Television
Optional Section 4: Comedy (for stand-up/sketch performers)
Section 5: Training
Section 6: Special Skills

For all of these, fonts are bold and at least the first letter is capitalized. Know your market. Are you in Los Angeles, New York or a regional market? This is important because you will alter your resume slightly to cater to that specific market. Depending on the market, list the most popular category first. For instance, New York is a theater as well as a film and TV market. So if you are competing in New York and you consider yourself a stage actor first, list this category first as most of your casting calls will be for the stage. In Los Angeles, you will list film and television before the theater section. Now separate the resume into three columns.

Column 1:
The project title
Column 2:
(For TV) co-star, guest star, recurring or series regular
(For Film) lead or supporting
(For Theater) List the role name
Column 3:
(For Film & TV): The director's name, their title (Dir.)
(For Theater): List the theater name and the director if he is reputable

Next under the "training" header, list the school or company, the class and instructor keeping to the same format. Under "special skills," list all of your special skills. Examples include, juggling, cycling, water polo, accents, dance or whatever you know you do well.

Tips to Polish

Do attach the resume to the back of your picture, but don't let it hang off the back. The acting resume is printed to appear centered, stapled to the back of your head shot and should be cut to fit the 8 x 10 size of the head shot. List student films only if you have very little experience. Don't list the university if you can help it. So instead of saying Lincoln Community College, Jason James, Dir., maybe list it as Lincoln Productions, Jason James, Dir. Get as much mileage from your experience that you can without lying. The same is true for school plays. Never list commercials, instead list: Commercials Available Upon Request in bold italics right below the last section before the "training" heading. Do not list extra work. This is one of those "amateur flags" especially if you are not in the union. If you list "Co-Star" on "CSI" as an example but you are not in SAG, the skilled industry professional knows that you could not have worked that job and will assume you were an extra. This is a very common amateur mistake. Although this is an ongoing debate, my advice, only list your weight and height at the top right or left side of the resume under your name if you are a child or model. Never list your date of birth again unless you are a child where it will most likely work to your advantage. Lastly, never lie. It will come back to haunt you and could leave you blackballed.

References

• Actor Pages
• Do It Yourself Actor Resume
• Actor Web Site

Resources

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