Beginner Acting Resume: Template, Sample & Format

Every kid under the sun wants to be an actor, for at least a time in their early life. Kudos to you for pursuing that dream and not abandoning it.

But before you become an award-winning actor in musical theater, or a Los Angeles production company picks you up, you need to deliver a beginner acting resume that’s a smash hit.

This guide will show you:

• A beginner acting resume example better than 9 out of 10 other resumes.
• How to write a beginner acting resume that will land you more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a beginner acting engineer resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for a beginner actress or actor to get any job you want.

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Looking to start your career through different means? Have a look at these:

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Beginner Acting Resume Template

1. Format Your Beginner Acting Resume Correctly

As a beginner actor, you play characters by using your voice and body language. You’re likely to start in commercials, plays, or in secondary roles. Nonetheless, a beginner acting resume needs to show acting skills, voice work, and collaboration skills as your main strengths.

Past that, you can probably rely on networking to carry you the rest of the way.

Wait a second.

As a beginner, you’d be hard-pressed to have any kind of professional network.

How do you win, then?

With a well-formatted beginner acting resume that puts your strengths in the spotlight. Here’s how to format your resume for the best results:

• Include your contact information in your resume header. That’s your calling card, and you want that name to stick around in their heads.
• Use bold headings with elegant fonts for better readability, and more distinct resume sections.
• Not sure how to list past job experience as a beginner actor or actress? The reverse chronological layout is likely your go-to. This means listing your most recent experience first, then working your way back through older gigs. 
• Lastly, don’t overload your application. The best resume length for you shouldn’t go past one page—this isn’t a screenplay.

Save the resume file as a PDF, as it will let you preserve the resume structure without errors or bugs.

Read more: What Should a Resume Look Like?

2. Write a Beginner Acting Resume Objective

Most people employed in the arts have to work a second job to get by. On top of that, acting often comes up as one of the most anxiety-inducing professions out there.

But there are gigs that won’t require you to overwork and over-stress yourself.

You just have to prove you’re good enough to get them.

So—

How do you get the casting director not only on board with hiring you, but also excited to see you perform?

Simple: you write a resume profile that drops jaws and gets standing ovations.

Prepare a resume summary if you’re a beginner, but have been in the industry for over 2 years. Highlight the achievements and biggest moments of your career thus far.

Write a resume objective if you’re not quite up to 2 years, and focus on the skills and drive you have to finally get that Hollywood breakthrough.

Read more: How to Start a Resume for Beginners: 15+ Tips

3. Write a Good Beginner Acting Job Description

Listing past acting jobs when you’re just starting out can be quite intimidating.

I mean, do they really want to hear about the complete blowout of a performance you gave 20 years ago during your 4th-grade school play?

That’s probably going too far back on your resume.

Even if you’re writing this section with no acting experience whatsoever, trust me, there are things you can do:

• If you have scored acting gigs in the past, mention the title of the film or play and what your role was, plus the name of the director.
• Group everything by the category of theater, film, commercial, voice work etc.
• Focus on the more prominent roles, and don’t be overly descriptive. Your credits should be all neat and fairly condensed.

Now, let’s assume you’re writing a resume with no experience at all. Zip. Nada. Not even an extra with a Wilhelm scream.

In that case, do the following:

• In the work experience section, you can include scenes from acting school, end-of-semester/year plays, freelance work in commercials, the likes.
• Swap the order of your education section (coming up next) and work portfolio if there’s more going on in your school history than work experience. 

Pro tip: If you’ve worked with a famous actor (or director), you can name-drop them without shame. It adds a ton of heft to your experience.

4. Improve Your Beginner Acting Education Section (It Counts!)

Some actors and actresses start out with no formal acting education.

Logic would dictate you can therefore skip your resume education section entirely.

And that would be a big mistake, huge!

Since you’re a beginner, it’s precisely this section that can carry the most weight, and even steal the show.

This is how to write it:

• List your school name, location, graduation year, and degree.
• Then, proceed to list impressive performances in school plays, relevant acting coursework and workshops, diploma honors, and school awards

Read more: How to List Your Degree on a Resume

Creating a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Follow our step-by-step guide and use content from Certified Professional Resume Writers to have a resume ready in minutes.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

5. Make Your Beginner Acting Skills Shine

You can’t expect to get your big break in a Los Angeles production company or studio without the right acting chops.

The #1 tip to keep in mind: tailor your resume’s skills section.

Why?

Certain roles require particular skills. Others don’t. If you spam-send casting coordinators with the same, generic resume, you’ll end up with a really tough crowd.

Instead, pick out a list of soft and hard skills you actually have (which means no lying on your resume!) and make sure they coincide with the skills the casting call states as “required”.

And in case you need some acting inspiration, here’s a sample list of skills for beginner actors and actresses:

Beginner Acting Resume: Skills

• Working Individually
• Teamwork Skills
• Confidence
• Rehearsing
• Stage Presence
• Projection
• Good Pronunciation
• Gymnastics
• Creativity
• Taking Direction
• Learning Lines/Directions
• Good Memory
• Improvisation/Ad-libbing
• Dancing & Singing
• Accents
• Method Acting
• Conveying Emotion
• Physical Fitness
• Musical Instruments
• Presentation Skills
• Communication Skills
• Collaboration Skills
• Critical Thinking
• Decision-Making

Read more: Essential Skills for Any Resume

6. Create a Miscellaneous Section for Beginner Acting Resume

The most viral acting stories are always those “rags-to-riches” ones that developed character.

Jim Carrey used to clean toilets; Halle Berry worked as a bartender.

Some of these extras (pun intended) can and should make your way onto your resume—you never know what could make you stand out in exactly the way that is needed for a particular role.

The number 1 thing to include here should always be your language skills, if you have them. Useful interests or hobbies can go on your resume, as can special certifications, professional achievements and awards, or anything that ups the “Wow!” factor of your resume.

Read more: Free Resume Templates in PDF/Doc

7. Send a Cover Letter to Go with Your Beginner Acting Resume

To you, any audition feels too short.

You have so much more to show and express, but they always cut you off.

Writing a cover letter for an acting job allows you more ways of expression. Take advantage of it, and they’ll fall in love with your performance.

Start off by formatting your cover letter: proper cover letter spacing and margins and a good cover letter font.

Addressing the cover letter directly to the casting director keeps it personal (in a good way).

Begin your cover letter boldly to secure their attention. In the middle, provide more context on your past career and future ambitions. Show them why you’re a great addition to their agency, and/or a particular role.

Finally, end the cover letter with an exciting offer. End on a bit of a cliffhanger, and say you’ll reveal more during the interview.

Read more: Expert Cover Letter Writing Tips

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Aaaand cut!

That’s our idea of the perfect beginner acting resume!

Thanks for reading. What did you think of this guide? Still got questions about writing a good skills section for a beginner actress or actor? Let’s chat in the comments!

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