The headshot expresses the look and feel of the actor at a glance, but the actors resume sells the versatility, skillfullness, and success of an actor before he or she ever shows up to the audition. In this article we will quickly review the central purpose of an acting resume and from there discuss what should and should not go in it and why.
An acting resume is exactly one side of one page, and you will typically staple it to the back of your head shot. This single page should represent you as an artist, as an entertainer, as an employee, and as a colleague. In order to do that, you will have to do a little thinking about what the auditioners seem to be looking for. Think about the specific show they going to be doing and try to compare it to their previous work. What sorts of actors do they like to use, and what kinds of people do they usually use for the type of part you’re trying out for? Once you’ve considered what they’re looking for, the only thing to do is to try and give it to them. You’re an actor, so this should be the easy part.
The only thing you need to realize is that your acting resume should represent the part you want to play more than you as an independent entity. Don’t be afraid to shape your resume to meet the needs of the character. I would never tell you to lie; simply try to select and highlight the parts of your acting career that are the best fit for this show. This is a little bit of an extra investment in terms of time and energy, but it’s not that big an investment. Five or ten minutes per audition could very well spell the difference between getting a part or not getting it.
