Acting Tips: Writing A Resume

As someone who has done casting for independent movies, the main things that I look for in resumes are that an actor has some experience and that they spent the time and effort putting together a nice looking resume. Apart from this, resumes don't really tend to have much influence on my casting decisions. For non paying projects, most actors' resumes that I've seen include 3 things: short movies I've never heard of, plays I've never heard of (or at least ones that I'm not familiar enough with to know 1 role from another), and possibly major movies that they were extras in. None of this is really helpful in choosing actors. Here are a few tips:

• Make sure it looks professional.
• If there are misspellings or the columns aren't straight or there are other problems, it's going to look like you didn't put much effort into it.
• If you did a half assed job on your resume, most casting people will probably think that you will do a half assed job on their movie.
• Proofread it multiple times, have a friend look it over, and for god's sake, use spell check.


• Keep it to only one page.
• A resume doesn't have to include every single project that you've ever acted in.
• If you've done too much to include everything on a single page, then only include the most impressive sounding things.


• Make sure to have some information.
  • If all you've acted in is two plays, that doesn't mean that your resume should only be 2 lines long.
  • If your resume is too short, add a "goals" section. You can simply say that you are just getting started in acting and are willing to take non paying and non speaking roles to get some experience. This will at least show that you are realistic and have a good attitude.
  • Also, if you have anything that would fit, include a skills section. This would be anything that is not acting related, but can be useful in certain roles. They can vary from speaking a foreign language to knowing how to drive a motorcycle to juggling to playing the piano.
  • For children and young adults, if you look younger than you are, you may want to mention that as well. If you are 18 and can pass for 14, this is good because most filmmakers would rather work with an 18 year old rather than a 14 year old.
  
  
• Be creative.
• Basically, at this point, you're a salesperson. Your product is yourself as an actor and your resume is your initial sales pitch, so think about what can be of interest to casting people.
• For example if you have a moustache and you'd be willing to shave it for a role, write that. It not only lets casting people know that you can play a character with or without a moustache, but it also tells them that you are flexible in general since you are willing to change your overall appearance for the duration of the shoot.
• Basically, you're looking for anything that could set you apart from other actors in the eyes of a casting director.