How to Make an Acting Resume With No Experience

How to Make an Acting Resume With No Experience for ActorsPutting together an actor resume is probably the first and easiest thing an aspiring actor should do. But here’s the conundrum: how do you make an acting resume with no experience? If you’re in this position, don’t sweat it. It’s not a big deal. Really, it’s not.

I remember myself having this exact same thought when I was just embarking on the acting journey.

In reality, almost every single actor has been in a position of having an empty actor resume. We’ve all started out acting with no credits.

As a newcomer, you’ll have to get comfortable with the idea that you’re a fresh face on the block, you won’t be signed by any top talent agencies in Los Angeles (yet) and you’ll have to work with what you have.

Below, I will quickly walk you through what an actor resume is, what purpose does it serve, what resume you need for voice over jobs, the standards for an acting resume in Los Angeles, and the best way to go about writing your actor resume when you have no experience to list.

Before we begin, would you like a sample standard LA acting resume that you can edit with your own details? Share some social love and you can download an editable PDF.

Let’s start at the beginning. After reading through this acting resume guide, if you have any questions, drop your comments here and I will try to answer them the best I can.

What’s an acting resume, and why do you need one?

I’m sure everybody knows what a CV (curriculum vitae) is. It’s that piece of paper that people use to show to their potential employers.

Surprise surprise, an actor’s resume is the exact same thing that you use when they’re looking to book acting auditions in LA. It serves the same purpose, and is even structured similarly.

Alongside your headshot, an acting resume is one of the most important actor’s marketing tools that every aspiring thespian needs to have. It’s your calling card. You will list all of your acting experience, education, acting training and special skills that you have alongside your contact information, and a few physical stats.

LA Acting Resume ExampleLook to the right. This is what a Los Angeles based working actor’s resume looks like. I removed the name and contact info.

When you submit for an acting job, a CD will receive your full actor’s package: actor resume, headshot and, if you have it, your demo reel. The CD will look at your headshot first (!) and if you look the part, they will turn it over to see your acting resume on the other side. They’ll scan through your physical stats, your credits and, sometimes, your special skills if that applies.

Say your resume looks professional, your look fits the part, and the CD is happy with your experience and credits. In this case, you’re going to get a call about an audition. Congratulations! You just got your first audition. Now back to the real world…

Even if you have not done any acting work whatsoever, you can still put together an actor resume with no experience, and send it over to CDs with confidence.

Despite your worst delusional fears (we’ve all be there, trust me), nobody’s going to think of you poorly if you have little or no acting experience. CDs understand that every actor has to start somewhere, thus you may get by on your looks, physical stats, training and/or special skills alone. Most importantly, don’t get discouraged if you don’t. Simply move onto the next project.

Bottom Line: An acting resume is what every actor needs to put together as soon as they’ve decide to enter show business. It’s their calling card.

Basics of a professional actor resume

Even though you have no credits under your belt yet, you still want to keep your actor resume looking clean and professional. Here are some basics to go by when structuring an acting CV:

  1. An acting resume is ALWAYS only one sheet of paper. No exceptions.
  2. It must have enough white space to be read easily (hey, you’re perfect for it!)
  3. It should be sized to fit a 8×10 headshot so that you can staple it to the back.
  4. Use standard fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman.
  5. Do not cram the resume with too many things. Keep it simple and relevant.
  6. Do not use any colors. It’s just black and white, plus headings for sections.
  7. Never lie on your resume. You’ll be surprised how quickly that gets out.

DON’T lie on your résumé. Actors do this all the time and they always get caught. If you claim to have booked a guest star role on “NCIS,” it stands to reason you would have footage from the show on your reel. If you don’t, I’m going to ask why. And that’s where the lie will start to fall apart.” – Secret Agent Man, Backstage.com

These are the primary “rules” for a professional looking acting resume. Follow them and you’ll be alright.

If you download the sample acting resume above, you’ll notice that it’s slightly different from the resume in the picture, but the difference is irrelevant. In fact, most casting directors prefer the simplicity because it’s easier to read and remember.

What matters the most in an acting resume is the basic information that’s easy to see: personal details at the top, followed by credits and then training. You can choose either format, just keep it clean and easy to read.

And now for the acting resume format technicalities. I suggest you opening that resume sample from above so that you understand better what’s what.

Bottom Line: Your acting resume should look clean, professional, adapted for quick reading, and with the most recent and most relevant credits.

Acting resume format

Your personal information. As you can see in the acting resume template I’ve linked to above, and the provided Los Angeles actor resume example, we’re supposed to start with some personal details. For the purpose of this article, let’s assume that you’re a non-union actor with no talent agent representation, which is most likely the case anyway.

  1. Actor’s name. This is where your stage name (not your legal name) goes. Simple.
  2. Union title. If you’re not affiliated with any actor’s union, then skip this part.
  3. Phone number. Always use the number by which you can be reached any time.
  4. Physical stats. Self-explanatory. NEVER put your age or date of birth on the resume.

After the basic personal information, we’re moving onto the credits and what acting experience you have.

Your acting experience. Normally, this is where you would list all your credits, from television to film to theater to new media. If you’re pursuing acting in Los Angeles, most of your work will be focused on Film/TV, thus one resume is usually enough. However, people in New York City, for example, will often have at least two actor resumes: one focused on screen work, one on stage work. If you don’t have much acting experience, then one acting CV will be enough.

Actor Resume Explanation Film

  • Film credits. In this section, start with the name of the show, followed by the type of role (NOT your character’s name; see below) you did, then production company and finally director’s name.

Actor Resume Explanation TV Web Series

  • Television credits. Similarly to film credits, start with the name of the show, then the type of role (different to film type roles; see below), followed by television network and the director’s name. The same applies to Web Series/Webisodes productions.

Actor Resume Explanation Theater

  • Theater credits. Again, begin with the name of the production/play, followed by your role/character’s name (this time it’s the other way around), then the theater company’s name and the location of where the production took place.

A few quick tips:

  • Always, always list film and television credits under separate sections. You’ll see some bad actor resume examples where they’re filled under “Film/TV.” DO NOT do this, because it will make your acting resume look very unprofessional. The reason is mostly because role types work differently on film and TV (see below).
  • Once you get more experience under your belt, try to remove some of the older and/or less important stuff from the resume. Keeping it clean will make you look more professional. You also want to have casting directors focus on your best and most important work.
  • You can list your credits any way you want. Some people list them chronologically, but I usually suggest listing your best work at the top so that it catches peoples’ attention.
  • Never put extra/background work on your resume. The reason being is that extra work is not considered acting. Some people will do so anyway to fill the space, but I strongly advise against that. If you’re ever asked about that part, and you have to say that you were actually a background on the set, that will make you look very unprofessional.
  • When listing theater credits, you don’t usually name the director. However, if the director’s name is really well-known, I would list that either alongside the theater company’s name, or instead of the location if you’re short for space (similar to Film/TV credit format).

Your training and education. In this section, list all the relevant acting training that you’ve had so far. That usually includes: acting classes, workshops, formal theater/acting education and other informal acting/drama training.

Begin by listing the name of your acting teacher (for private/group classes) or the institution where you’ve studied acting. Right next to it you’ll list what type of acting classes those were, which you’ll know after you’ve taken them. There’s too many for me to list, but the most common are Scene Study, Cold Reading, Audition Technique, Improv, and On-Camera Class. In the third column of this section, it’s the location.

Now in terms of what goes where vertically. Normally, you’ll have your formal and probably oldest acting education at the bottom, which is the college or drama school that you went to. Even if you think it’s the best type of training you have received, that’s usually not how casting directors and agents think.

Keep the classes that you’re currently taking at the very top of this section, and add “(ongoing)” right next to them. After that, list any other acting class or workshop that you’ve taken chronologically with the oldest class at the bottom of the list.

Your special skills. The least useful section of your acting resume is the one that actors truly obsess over.

You don’t have to, because agents rarely even look here, unless there’s something very specific that they want from an actor.

With that in mind, don’t over-complicate this part and list the things that you’re most proficient in.

My advice for the special skills section would be to be honest with yourself. If you’ve only strummed a guitar a few times in your life, don’t put Guitar on there. If you’ve played basketball in high school which was 10 years ago, don’t put Basketball in there. Also, don’t write down things like Running and Whistling, unless you’re a professional. The same goes for listing languages. Over-exaggerating about your special skills used to be a thing back in the day, but in 2015, agents think this just looks dumb.

Also, they will often test you, so you better be prepared:

I want all of you to look up the meaning of the word “fluent.” Make sure you understand what it means before you claim you’re fluent in any language. I’m fluent in three, and I always test actors when I see one of those languages listed on their résumé. Care to guess how many couldn’t respond to a simple question in the language they’re supposed to be fluent in?” – Secret Agent Man, Backstage.com

As you can see, agents do care and they do their due diligence.

Bottom Line: Always stick to the standard actor resume format, and don’t reinvent the wheel. Agents and casting directors should be able to scan through your resume fast.

Film and TV role types

Let me give you quick breakdown of film and television role types. This is something every aspiring actor in Los Angeles has to know. You’ll be surprised how often you’ll soon be using these terms.

TV role types

  • Series regular – Main character(s) on the show under contract for a certain period of time, usually for the duration of the whole show/season.
  • Recurring – Second most important TV acting role type. These are usually signed to appear on the show on multiple episodes.
  • Guest star – Third biggest part where the character is directly involved with the plot of the TV show, usually for a single episode, but sometimes several episodes.
  • Co-star – A small speaking part that will only be involved in one episode for a small period of screen time.
  • Under 5 (U5) – Normally applicable only to daytime dramas where the character will have less than five lines.

Film role types

  • Lead – Protagonist. Main character of the story on whom the whole film is centered.
  • Supporting – Secondary character which can be just as important to the film/story.
  • Principal – A small part with spoken lines where the character will usually interact with one of the above characters for a short period, but doesn’t add much to the story.
  • Featured – A non-speaking part where the character gets enough facetime. This is not the same as an Extra, but sometimes Extras are promoted to Featured roles.

And that wraps up the whole technical part of an actor’s resume. Please feel free to come back to this article when you’ll need help with structuring your actor resume format.

If you have no acting experience…

How to Make an Acting Resume With No ExperienceI’ve already mentioned this, but don’t stress about not having any acting experience. Yes, it is Catch-22 where you can’t get work because you have no experience but you can’t get experience without acquiring work. Welcome to Hollywood.

So here’s where you can start.

A) The first thing you may want to do is think about whether you definitely have no experience. Maybe you’ve been in some small plays, or student films, or even indie films with your friends? List them all! Anything where you have actually done acting can go on your resume, even if it’s a small part in a silly project.

B) The next step is obvious: you need to search for opportunities to act. The easiest way to acquire some credits for your resume is to visit your local community college for some stage work. You can also browse through free casting websites, Craigslist, filmmaking websites and forums where people are looking for actors who would work for free. If you’re willing to do some work for no reward, that means you’ll find opportunities faster.

C) The third thing you can do is produce something yourself. I’ve already talked about the importance for actors to create their own projects, and the earlier you start, the better. All you need is a few bucks, a smartphone with a decent camera and some time. You can gather up a couple of friends, write a screenplay for a short film, shoot it on your phone and put it up on YouTube. That’s your first credit.

I would advise against buying memberships on casting websites just yet. If this is your first time venturing into the world of performing arts, give it some time, and see if you even like the craft of acting before spending money.

You will be surprised how quickly your resume will start growing if you dedicate some time to this, and if you’re willing to work for free. There are a lot of opportunities out there, especially if you move to a big city such as Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Vancouver in Canada or London in England. Once you start receiving some acting work, remove your older, “silly” credits and replace them with the most recent stuff.

Finally, try to have fun. People often forget about this – myself included – but it’s an integral part of succeeding as an actor. After all, don’t we all want to become actors so that we can have fun instead of work?