Actor's Resume

The actor's resume has a particular format. It is always just one page, the same size as the headshot, 8"x10". It is supposed to be stapled to the back of the headshot and only list the most recent and relevant information about the actor. It has a well-defined structure. Any variation from this structure is not recommended.

Name

At the top of the resume, you should specify your name and surname or stage name. 

Union Status

Right below the name, you have to specify the union status, the Canadian union is ACTRA, but in British Columbia, it is UBCP/ACTRA the USA union is SAG-AFTRA. If you're not a member of the union, you can specify NON-UNION. There's one more option you can specify there that is BCIT/ACTRA eligible or SAG-AFTRA eligible - this means that you are not a union member  - but became eligible to join the union. If you do not specify the union status, you will be considered non-union unless your IMDBPro STARMeter is within the top 1000. You can possibly flex and remove the union affiliation, but it's unlikely that you'll be reading this page (feel free to say hello if you do though).

Contact Details

Right below those details on the left-hand side, you have to specify your contact details. The date of birth needs to be disclosed only if you are less than 18 because, depending on your age, there are different regulations on set.

The height is essential because this is one of the main factors apart from your look that needs to be considered when matching actors together. It would be awkward if the son is higher than the dad or the daughter is taller than the mom when they set up a family. Your photo does not disclose that. The height has to be given in feet and inches. The weight should be provided in stones.

If you're underage, you do not specify your mobile phone or e-mail address. You should specify your parent's contact details or completely omit them.

Agency

On the right-hand side, you should specify the agency name, your agent's name, contact email and phone number. If you are on the roster with some of the top agencies in Canada or in the United States, you would also show their logo. Please note, though, as talent agencies might have specific requirements for their branding, always reach out to your agent to get appropriate artwork. If you do not have an agency, you omit the whole section.

Credits

The next 3 sections specify your experience in Film and Television, Commercial and Theatre productions. In this specific order. If you do not have experience in a specific area. You remove the whole section and move to the next. The difference between the normal and acting CV is that you include the most important credits, not the chronologically latest credit. You are also free to remove irrelevant credits. For example, if you've played in a blockbuster movie the small role you played when you were 4 years old might no longer be relevant.

Education

Then comes the education - by education, we mean recognized acting schools and institutions - you do not specify your primary school or middle school name - just an acting school and the teacher's name. The market here in British Columbia is small, and you're guaranteed that the Casting Director will ask your teacher how you did on the lesson. This session is chronological and you should specify the current (ongoing) training first. If you have a substantial number of credits, you can remove the training section. 

Skills

Next comes the special skills, you should list your skills in the following order:

• Sports/Athletics (Basketball, Hockey, ...)

• Vocal Ability (Soprano, Baritone, Bass, Tenor ... )

• Instruments (Guitar, Violin...)

• Dialects (General American, Received Pronunciation, Irish, Cockney, French, ...) 

• Anything else that you're good at

For each one of the abilities, you should specify the skill level. For example, if you can barely play twinkle twinkle on a piano, you might consider yourself a beginner, but if you can play Chopin's etude, you might put an expert level in your skill level. If you can barely swim, then you might not include the skill in there, but if you are a lifeguard - then it is a valuable piece of information. The same applies to all other skills - be truthful and don't put skills you don't have. 

ActosAccess link

Finally, at the very bottom in the footer provide the link to your actor's access profile. This is the profile that all actors in Canada and the United States are required to have as that's the system used by Casting Directors and Talent Agents to cast. This is also the place from where the Casting Director will be able to check your demo real and download an electronic version of your headshot, cv and size card if required. 

Templates

We know that not everyone is great with the latest technology, therefore. below are 4 templates, one for Google Docs (ChormeOS), one in Microsoft Word (MS Windows), one in Apple Pages (MacOS) and one in Libre Office (Linux). You should be able to edit the template on any computer and text editor you have installed.