Whether you are looking to land your first television role or an accomplished working actor, a polished perfect resume is a must. An actor’s resume is much different that the traditional resume found in the corporate world. Casting directors and agents will often not give a second glance to resumes that are not formatted according to industry standards. Increase your chances for getting called back by following these professional tips for actor and actress resumes.

List your name in large letters in the center top of your resume. Make sure to use the exact professional name you use in movies, television, radio or theater and not necessarily the name on your birth certificate. Underneath your name list the union you are officially affiliated with – Screen Actors Guild (SAG), The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), or American Equity Association (AEA). Under the union names you may list a contact phone number and your professional actor website if you have one. Keep it bold and simple.

Under each of the top four sections you will list out each of your professional acting experiences in the following order across the page in columns: Project Title, Role (TV: co-star, guest star, recurring, regular. Film: lead or supporting, Theater: role name), Director’s name and title (for TV and Film) and theater name (for stage actors). Under the “Training” section you can list the school or company where you trained, listing any relevant classes and instructors. The “Special Skills” is your chance to name any skills and unusual talents such as belly dancer, stunt skills, gymnast or whatever you can do that will get you the job. If you have done commercial or modeling work, you can add as an italicized statement that these credits are “available upon request”.

Next, you will want to print up copies of your resume that are sized to attach to the back of your 8 x 10 headshot. Obviously, you’re going to need to keep resumes down to 1 page so that is fits neatly on the photo. Also, avoid listing your height, weight or age; if the casting staff wants these specific details they will ask you during the casting call. An exception to this rule is if you are a model or child actor and know that these personal details will work to your advantage.

Almost every actor needs to be literate and able to understand language from a variety of eras. A good actor can become anything he or she wants to be. If you want to really stand out as an actor, you will have to make your resume stand out for you. When you look at all the famous actors out there they all have one things in common they all were passionate about becoming an actor, you need to be passionate about acting to become and actor. Plan to study your craft and become good at it; create your talent and persevere even if you are not getting parts and then share your knowledge and learn from others who share the same passion.

When working with agents to get work you should conduct yourself professionally in a setting. Actors need to promote themselves anyway they can, they need to hone their craft, try creating your own projects or joining a community theatre, co-op productions or doing anything that will help you get your name out there in the public and will help find an agent or someone who will notice your talents. Include a small thumbnail headshot of yourself on your resume.

What does the term acting mean, the definition is a person who portrays someone else or a character either on screen or on stage. When choosing an acting school you will need to notice that they offer many different programs that allows for flexibility when choosing the time to take the class this allows the student the ability to meet the requirements. The perfect forum is acting school it embraces the actors/actresses with the ability to enhance their talents to become the best they can be. When taking classes in a Universities they teach the finer points of how act and improve students craft of acting, they sharpen your skills but they do not spend the time showing actors how to get work on a consistent basis, or how to make a living as an actor.

When people talk about a hidden acting agenda they are referring to a term that describes a phenomenon where actors hide a condition or some trait or a quality of theirs because one of these things was the source they use that occurred earlier in their lives. When actors perform in theater halls they were designed to have incredible acoustics, the reason for this was to help actors and performers so the audience are able to hear them and to give the performers and actors natural reflections when performing. People watch TV, go to movies or theater to be entertained. You need to start some place when becoming an actor, you should look into short films or independent theater and you should take a few simple classes, this will help you on your way, it is just the beginning.