Example Acting Resume with Headshots
This is an example of an online acting resume with head shots from Starving Art School. As an actor, it is very important to think of yourself as a brand, and to market yourself in any and every way possible in order to maximize your chances of being recognized among all the other aspiring and established actors and actresses. An online actor resume like this one can be a solid part of a comprehensive plan for marketing yourself as an actor, because it allows you one extra avenue for making your information available, and in a way that is specific to this medium.
As I explain in my article on acting headshots, an online acting resume gives you the opportunity to offer your full professional information to anyone, anywhere, on the fly, without having to tote around a set of resumes and headshots, and without the expense of constantly having additional head shots printed for you. Of course, you will always need to have a paper resume and printed headshot for any audition or formal meeting, but having an online presence can give an actor or any other type of artist a real leg up. You can make completely up-to-date info available instantaneously for anyone who would want to look at it.
For example, when someone sees you after a show and tells you they work with such-and-such theatre company and would love to have you audition some time, rather than both of you forgetting the moment right away, you can either just tell them the web address of your acting resume or even have business cards printed up with your web address displayed prominently to give out at moments like these, so that a few weeks or months down the road when they are short one cast member and are in a bind, they will have your info available, be able to show your dramatic headshots to the other company members and call you with an offer. This is the ideal scenario, folks. It's not going to work out every time, that's just the business. But if you don't set up an online acting resume for yourself, it will never happen. It's just that simple.
So anyway, back to Big Talented Bob the big talented actor. This here is your basic format for an actor's or actress resume. If Big Talented Bob had real headshots, you'd be able to click on the thumbnails for the full-size versions. On your own acting resume this is optional, but you might want to consider including larger versions of your headshots whether they are fancy schmansy popups or just plain big ass pictures above or below your actual resume. Again, as I have mentioned elsewhere on this site: please take note of the simplicity of this resume. It is plain, it is readable, it is even kind of ugly but that doesn't make a bit of difference because nobody cares. You're not a professional typesetter, you're a professional actor, so you're going to be judged on your acting work, not on the beauty of your resume. You have to make your acting resume readable in order to be judged on acting experience in order to be considered at all, so do yourself a favor and put readability ahead of aesthetics.
Below are some sample sections that you would be likely to find on an acting resume. You're going to want to list the individual sections of your performance experience in the order that they are important to the types of jobs you are hoping to get, but you'll also want to play this smart. If you're an actor or actress who has been doing musical theatre for the last 5 years and now want to break into commercial work, you have two options: you can either list whatever meager commercial work you have first in order to convey that it is the most important to you at the moment, or you can list all of that musical theater experience first on your resume in order to make yourself look more accomplished. In the latter case, you run the risk of making it look like you only have a musical theatre resume, and in the former case you run the risk of looking inexperienced in your chosen area of concentration. I think it really just has to do with the unique configuration of your acting history and also your own personality. You're the one who will have to explain it, so you may as well do what feels most comfortable to you.
Once you've finished looking over some of the sample acting resume sections that are listed here, think about going back and reading up on all the details of acquiring your own online acting resume.
Theatre Experience
| • | Top Girls | Griselda | Big&Tall Actor's Guild |
| • | The Seagull | Arkadina | Massive Stage Productions |
| • | Eumenides | Jury | Horib Le House Players |
Musical Theatre Experience
| • | Guys and Dolls | Adelaide | Forte Theatre |
| • | Wrong Again | Virtue | Ton Lim Theatre |
| • | Grease | Frenchie | Somas Actor's Workshop |
Film Experience
| • | Meditation on Soap | Soap | Ponzi Productions |
| • | Filth is Love | Max Willis | Fath Entertainment |
Television Experience
| • | Kids Are Scary | Bit Part | FIZL Network |
| • | My Little Brown | Little | Marx Cable |
Voice-over Experience
| • | The Beer is the Limit | The Quaffer | Feif Entertainment |
Theatre Education
| • | Bourgoisie School of the Arts | BFA Theatre Program | 1884-1888 |
| • | Work-a-Day Voice Academy | Vocal Training | 1952-1954 |
Accents
Hispanic (Mexican, Cuban) • Long Island • Brooklyn • Boston • Ebonics • Southern (Upper-Class and Lower-Class) • Midwestern
Awards & Recognitions
| • | Academy Award Nominee, Best Grip | |
| • | Tony Award Nominee, Best On-Stage Sneeze |
Special Skills
Wire Flying • Directing & Assistant Directing • Stage Managing • Knowing How To Write An Actor's Resume • Juvenile Behavior In General
Acting Resume Summary: Artistic Strengths & Goals
If they've made it this far, they've probably only really skimmed along to the end, or else they've fallen in love with you. Either way, you may as well end up your artistic resume with a nice juicy bit of what you're actually looking for in your next art job, theatrical role, commercial acting gig, or whatever else it is that you're going for. This is a summary section, so don't tell them the whole story, just summarize. What is your message? What do you want out of your artistic career in general? Do you want to become a director or producer? Own your own gallery? Change the world through the magic of cinema? Lay it out straight for your reader. You've got one chance, and this is it. You actually got someone to read your official actor's resume so this is where you ask for the job and tell them why you should get hired as an actor or actress. By the way, this last section should only be included on an online acting resume, since there is more tolerance for extra information on this type of resume. When you are putting together your printed acting resume you should forego anything but the listings of experiences and skills.
