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 go back over the reasons for creating an acting resume and also what to think about when you are putting one together.

An acting resume should take up precisely 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. So the main thing is to understand what auditioners want from you. 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 next step is to try and give them what they want. Since you’re a professional actor, 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. So, you should twist and pull at the facts of your professional life until they fit, as closely as possible, the specific audition. Don’t lie; just take a look at this sample actor’s resume to get a better understanding of what I mean. 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 for each audition could very well spell the difference between getting a part or not getting it.