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Did you know? On average, casting directors get about 3,000 submissions per role. Out of those, they audition 30 people.
And out of those, they choose just one. This is why your three primary marketing materials – your headshot, reel, and resume – are so important! Today, we'll be diving deep on how to put together an acting resume for beginners. 
Acting Resume for Beginners
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What is an Actor Resume?
An actor resume is a quick, easy-to-look-at reference that tells casting directors your experience. It shows the most noteworthy roles you've played along with your training, special skills, and contact information.
What to Put on a Beginner's Acting Resume?
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An acting resume is broken up into four sections, which we'll be covering in depth in this article:
Take a look at this sample resume so you have an idea of what each section looks like: |
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How to Structure Your Acting Resume
"How do I make an acting resume with no experience?" Well, don't worry just yet. There are plenty of ways to book roles with no experience, and believe it or not you can absolutely create an acting resume without any credits at all. We'll discuss that soon.
In this section, we'll cover everything needed for each section of your professional acting resume, starting from the top (Personal Information) and moving all the way down to the bottom (Special Skills).
Before you start, I recommend you download my free Google Docs resume templates so everything is in perfect alignment and formatted correctly. Then, follow along!
In this section, we'll cover everything needed for each section of your professional acting resume, starting from the top (Personal Information) and moving all the way down to the bottom (Special Skills).
Before you start, I recommend you download my free Google Docs resume templates so everything is in perfect alignment and formatted correctly. Then, follow along!
Section 1: Personal Information
This is where you'll list the basics, such as your contact info and descriptive information about yourself. Use the following checklist and include everything you can (it's OK if you don't have everything listed below):
- Your name, phone number, email address (don't include your home address), and website. Note that having a website is not mandatory, especially if you're just starting out.
- If you have an agent or manager, list their contact information. Some may prefer you to hide your own contact information and only list theirs, but you can speak with them about it. For new actors, you can ignore this.
- Include your height, weight, hair and eye color. If you're in the US, be sure to use inches and feet, and if you're outside the United States use the metric system. Do not include your age unless you are under 18.
- Include a headshot to fill up space. Although it's true that you'll have your headshot stapled to the back of your resume, you can also include a different one printed on the front as a way to fill up some of the white space (especially if you don't have any credits yet).
- Include vocal type or range if you sing. An example would be Tenor, or Low E-Flat to High D.
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Include union affiliations. If you're just starting out, chances are you're not a part of a union yet, so you should write "Non-Union." Otherwise you can write SAG-AFTRA, Equity/AEA or SAG-AFTRA Eligible.
- Related: How to Get a SAG Card
Having trouble with formatting/alignment? Download my free actor resume templates here.
Section 2: Credits
So how do you list roles on an acting resume for beginners? Well, the Credits section is where the bulk of experienced actors' resume content is, but if you're just starting out it will be under Training & Education.
Follow the below guidelines to ensure your resume looks professional:
Follow the below guidelines to ensure your resume looks professional:
- What to Add: If you're older than 25, avoid including credits from productions you did when you were younger than 18. If you're younger than 25, you can add roles you've played within the past 5-10 years, but don't go further back than that. It's completely fine to include roles from classes and workshops.
- Alignment: Have the name of the production in the left-most column, the name of your role in the middle column, and the name of the director or theater company (whichever is more well-known) in the right column.
- Categories: Usually, you'll see credits listed under two categories: Film/TV and Theater. When you're first starting out, it's OK if you only have credits from one of these, like Theater. Just be sure you divide up the categories properly, and don't include a category if you have no credits for it.
- Extra Work: "Should you put extra work on your acting resume?" No, it's not a good idea to include extra (background actor) work on your resume (unless you're only looking for background acting work). Even if you're brand new, if you're trying to get speaking roles, do NOT include background work!
- Character Names: For Theater, include character names and then in parentheses next to it, add "cast," "ensemble," etc. For Film/TV, it's best to avoid character names completely and just use the role descriptions ("lead," "supporting," etc.).
- Famous People: If you had the opportunity to work with a famous actor in a scene, add their name in parentheses next to the role. An example would be (w/ Lindsay Lohan).
- Voiceover Credits: "How do you list a voice over on a resume?" Add another section to your resume if you do voiceover work. For voiceover credits, you'll list them out exactly the same way as for Film/TV credits, with three columns.
- Commercial Credits: Do not list commercials on your primary resume. Create a separate resume for commercials and only email it to people when requested. This is because of possible conflicts of interest (for example, if you were the lead in a Coca Cola commercial, PepsiCo would NOT want you to be in their commercial because people might think of Coca Cola when they see you instead).
- Lead With Your Most Impressive Stuff: Put your biggest credits first and do not include dates of productions on your resume.
Having trouble with formatting/alignment? Download my free actor resume templates here.
Section 3: Training & Education
In this section, you'll list out formal training (if related to acting), acting workshops, seminars, studio classes, master classes, or private coaching. This also includes special training not directly related to acting, such as singing or stunt-work.
If you're just starting out, this is where the bulk of your resume content will be.
What Casting Directors are Looking For:
- Names of program directors, teachers, or educators they recognize (try typing your instructors' names into Google– if their name shows up in lots of articles, chances are casting directors will recognize them).
- Names of schools or workshops they recognize (you can use the same strategy as above to see how well-known the workshop/school is).
- Length of time you studied a particular skillset, and how recently you studied it.
- Type of training you've had (learn more about these in my guide: Types of Acting Techniques: The Ultimate Guide).
There's no specific right or wrong format to list out your training, but just make it easy for a casting director to see what you've done – especially if you don't have many credits.
Using a two-column format like below can make it easy for them to read. Including dates is optional but recommended if you completed the training within the past 2-3 years.
If you need to fill up a lot of space, feel free to list bullet points under each training, showing specifically what knowledge was gained. Example:
2011-2015, BFA in Acting
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
- Pursued my passion for acting and singing
- Won “Best Actor" Award in USC's Student Film Festival
- Starred as lead in three college theatre productions
Having trouble with formatting/alignment? Download my free actor resume templates here.
Section 4: Special Skills
Not only do special skills help you book more roles because they're unique and less people have them, but they also use up some of that dreaded white space on your resume. You can list them in paragraph format as shown below, or as new lines (if you really need to fill up space).
"So what skills should I put on my acting resume?" Here are some examples:
If you want to go deep on this and see TONS of examples of special skills, check out my Acting Resume Special Skills Guide.
Put whatever you think is most noteworthy first so casting directors notice it. And don't say you can do something if you're not actually proficient at it!
Having trouble with formatting/alignment? Download my free actor resume templates here.
- Special Abilities (singing, cry on cue, etc.)
- Dancing Ability (hip hop dance, ballet, etc.)
- Combat Training (weapons handling, marital arts training, etc.)
- Accents (Southern dialect, Irish accent, etc.)
- Fitness Level (7% body fat, 6 pack abs, etc.)
- Fluency in Other Languages (Spanish, Mandarin, etc.)
- Musical Instruments (guitar, violin, piano, etc.)
- Driver's License (yes, this can be listed since many people don't have one)
- Acrobatic Abilities (flipping, juggling, etc.)
- Sports/Games (skiing, fencing, golf, chess etc.)
If you want to go deep on this and see TONS of examples of special skills, check out my Acting Resume Special Skills Guide.
Put whatever you think is most noteworthy first so casting directors notice it. And don't say you can do something if you're not actually proficient at it!
Having trouble with formatting/alignment? Download my free actor resume templates here.
Acting Resume for Beginners: Some Important Guidelines
- Your resume MUST be saved as a PDF format. Do not send Microsoft Word formats because the size and style changes on different computers, and what might have been one page with perfect alignment on your computer will suddenly look all messed up (and sometimes even two pages) on someone else's computer. PDF format always keeps the alignment perfect no matter where you send your resume. Note – your acting resume should NEVER be more than one page.
- It must be easy to read. Make sure to use professional fonts like Times New Roman, Helvetica, Garamond, or Arial.
- Each heading should stand out. The different sections of your resume, such as TV/Film, Theater, Training & Education, etc., should be bigger and/or a different style than the rest so they stand out.
- Only use black and white. Avoid using different colors because some casting directors print resumes on black & white printers, and your section headings won't stand out. They also assume you're inexperienced and new if you use colored fonts on your resume.
- When printed, it must ONLY be one page and cut to fit on the back of your 8" X 10" headshot. You’ll align your resume so it fits perfectly on the back of your headshot, and then staple it at all four corners (don't use tape or paperclips). Then you can cut off the extra paper with scissors. Don't print your resume directly on the back of your headshots because it's going to change every time you book a new role. Watch the video below to learn how to attach your headshot to your resume:
Enjoyed this article?
Book more work by thinking "Outside the Industry."
Knowing how to put together an acting resume for beginners is just one part of growing your acting career.
As someone who has worked with people in thousands of industries (through my headshot business), I've been able to take growth strategies that work for businesses and apply them directly to actors – to help them grow their careers faster than most would think possible (examples: one of my clients landed his first-ever Broadway role in just 4 weeks of working with me, and a brand-new actress signed with a high-level agent in just six weeks of working with me).
I'd like to invite you to my free insider newsletter where I share my best material, including:
Download my free Actor's Toolkit to get started and you'll hear from me a few times a week with unique "outside the industry" strategies. I promise they'll help you build a career you're truly proud of.
As someone who has worked with people in thousands of industries (through my headshot business), I've been able to take growth strategies that work for businesses and apply them directly to actors – to help them grow their careers faster than most would think possible (examples: one of my clients landed his first-ever Broadway role in just 4 weeks of working with me, and a brand-new actress signed with a high-level agent in just six weeks of working with me).
I'd like to invite you to my free insider newsletter where I share my best material, including:
- How to network easily and authentically with casting directors – even if you hate self-promotion.
- How to find your Type and Brand in just 18 minutes (it doesn't require awkwardly asking lots of random people for feedback)
- How to find a hardworking and reliable agent – even if you don't have a strong resume or reel
- And much more...
Download my free Actor's Toolkit to get started and you'll hear from me a few times a week with unique "outside the industry" strategies. I promise they'll help you build a career you're truly proud of.
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Martin Bentsen (author of this guide) is an actor marketing coach who uses “outside the industry” thinking to help actors book more work. He’s helped over 6,000 actors with their careers and actor headshots since 2009 and his photography studio City Headshots is ranked #1 on Yelp. He’s spoken at NYU, The New England Theater Conference, The Actor’s Green Room, and other venues. Want to book more acting work by thinking different? Start with his free Actor’s Toolkit to create new opportunities right away, or visit his website at www.martinbentsen.com. |
Some Additional Q&A
Can You Audition for Acting Without Experience?
You can! But keep in mind that it's generally harder to get invited to auditions without a resume. Here are some ways to get called in without a resume:
- Become friends with people in high places. You can meet people by attending film festivals, playhouses, or other places where people in the industry might congregate (such as industry events like Actor's Pro Expo). Then if you keep in touch with them, they might overlook the fact that you have no resume and let you audition for a role (if they like you). My free Actor's Toolkit shows you how to become friends with almost anyone in the industry by sending them an email or social media message (even if you haven't met them in person).
- Shoot a scene for your reel. You can hire a reel production company like Actor Screener Shoot to shoot a scene for your reel, and if your acting is on point, casting directors will overlook the fact that you have no resume or credits and just call you in based on the clip you send them. In some cases, a single great clip alone is enough to get you in the door!
- Create a resume without any credits. If you have any training (even just high school or middle school theater programs), you can list it on your resume. Casting directors want to know about more than just your credits, such as your education, special skills, and even personal information like height and vocal range.
- Become younger again. Just kidding! But seriously, if you're a student and haven't graduated high school or college, casting directors are much more lenient and don't care if you have no credits on your resume. The more years past graduating you are, the harder it becomes to get in the room without a resume.
How Do You Build Up a Resume?
"Can you put student films on a resume?" Absolutely! The fastest way to start getting credits is to audition for unpaid student productions.
You can submit to projects through websites like Actor's Access or Backstage, and then whenever you book a role, you can immediately add it to your resume – even before they shoot! And keep in mind: if you're hired to act in a production and it gets cancelled, you can still list the credit on your resume because you booked it.
I've written an in-depth guide on how to get called in without a reel, and I'd happy to send it to you for free! Just click here to get instant access.
You can submit to projects through websites like Actor's Access or Backstage, and then whenever you book a role, you can immediately add it to your resume – even before they shoot! And keep in mind: if you're hired to act in a production and it gets cancelled, you can still list the credit on your resume because you booked it.
I've written an in-depth guide on how to get called in without a reel, and I'd happy to send it to you for free! Just click here to get instant access.
Further Reading:
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