Free acting resume builder

Casting reads an acting resume in seconds, so the format is fixed and familiar. From top to bottom:

1. Your name, large, at the top. Use the name you work under.
2. Union status under your name: SAG-AFTRA, AEA (Actors' Equity), eligible, or non-union.
3. Contact details. If you have an agent or manager, list their contact information. If not, list your own phone number and a professional email. Never your home address.
4. Height, hair color, and eye color.
5. Credits grouped by medium: film, television, theatre, then commercials, new media, and other work. Each credit is one row in three columns: the title, your role or billing, and the company, director, or network.
6. Training: schools, programs, classes, and teachers.
7. Special skills: accents, languages, sports, instruments, licenses.

In the middle column, screen credits usually show billing rather than a character name: lead, supporting, or featured for film, and series regular, recurring, guest star, or co-star for television. Theatre credits usually show the character's name. Put your strongest credits first in each group, and put the medium you are pursuing first: actors in film and TV markets often lead with film and television, while stage actors lead with theatre. The section arrows in the builder change the order.

Everyone starts with a short resume, and agents and casting know it. A first resume is built from training, student films, school and community theatre, readings, and web series, plus a skills section with real range in it. Training carries the most weight when credits are thin, so list every serious class and teacher.

Press Load no-experience example above to see that layout filled in for a made-up actor, then replace every entry with your own. Leave out background work, and do not list a credit just to fill space: a short, honest page reads better than a padded one. Our guide on getting an acting agent with no experience covers what else to have ready.

For printed copies, choose 8 x 10 in the builder. Print it, trim it if your paper is larger, and staple it to the back of your headshot at the four corners, both facing out, so casting can flip from your face to your credits. Bring a few copies to every in-person audition. For email and casting sites, save a PDF instead.

A resume is checked and remembered, so keep it honest:

• List only work you did, with the billing you actually had. Never turn a featured part into a lead.
• Only claim a union status you hold. “Eligible” means you qualify to join, not that you joined.
• Only list a skill you can perform in the room today. If you write “fluent French” or “juggling”, expect to be asked.
• Update it after every job, and drop old, small credits as better ones arrive.

If an audition asks for a monologue as well, check that it fits the time limit with the monologue timer.