Hi guys,

I'm from the UK and I was wondering what do people think of my acting resume from an US point of view.

Btw black and white headshots are the norm here.

My resume link:

http://www.kifun.co.uk/CV160109TV2BW.pdf

A few things, although you will get MANY differing opinions

One: You don't need the years

Two: Seperate sections for Film and Television, it's ok if one section is slim

Three: For Film and TV you don't have to list you character's name. Just the TYPE of role. co-star,guest-star,starring,reccuring. There are different sets of credits for both Film and TV, A little google action will help you delineate. I'm sure you will hear ifferent opinions on this one.

Four: Again, there will be disagreement> Generally the list goes in order from the top
Film
TV
Theater
Education/Training
Skills

Five: There will be a lot of disagreement on this one ( I'm not even sure myself). You don't want to put commercial work on your resume. Again I don't have my commercial work listed. I just have at the bottom; Conflicts available upon request. But I have heard many people on both sides of that fence.

Six: Also to nit-pickey points: and you may very well be correct. But I would list Equity as AEA, and I think the "personal details" banner is needess

These are, however, the LA "rules"

As far as the content? It looks like you hustle. Keep it up, and good luck.

You also don't put your playing age on a resume. That's your opinion only, let THEM be the judge. Don't limit yourself. And no commercials listed I agree with. Just as Zenial said "conficts available upon request".

And as for "slim build". Me, I have my weight down as everyone's view on "slim" is different. I have also been told to put it down by people who know their stuff. "Slim" is very vague and again, YOUR opinion.

It's also unusual to have your own contact info there as well. It can imply you don't quite trust your agent and that bond is important. If you don't trust them- why are you with them.

As for how you have your credits, it is simply from left to right three columns with the name of the show, then what type of role i.e. lead, co-star etc and who was the production company/director. Put whoever is better known. Or both. But all the other stuff- ditch it. Unnecessary and too much clutter means too much on their eyes. Remember to KISS (keep it simple stupid).LOL.

In theatre as opposed to film/tv, always list the name of the character. And I hear in NYC, theatre goes first (opposite to LA) as that's the beast of that town. LA is film/tv driven.

quote:

Originally posted by miss stone:
You also don't put your playing age on a resume. That's your opinion only, let THEM be the judge. Don't limit yourself. And no commercials listed I agree with. Just as Zenial said "conficts available upon request".

And as for "slim build". Me, I have my weight down as everyone's view on "slim" is different. I have also been told to put it down by people who know their stuff. "Slim" is very vague and again, YOUR opinion.

It's also unusual to have your own contact info there as well. It can imply you don't quite trust your agent and that bond is important. If you don't trust them- why are you with them.

As for how you have your credits, it is simply from left to right three columns with the name of the show, then what type of role i.e. lead, co-star etc and who was the production company/director. Put whoever is better known. Or both. But all the other stuff- ditch it. Unnecessary and too much clutter means too much on their eyes. Remember to KISS (keep it simple stupid).LOL.

In theatre as opposed to film/tv, always list the name of the character. And I hear in NYC, theatre goes first (opposite to LA) as that's the beast of that town. LA is film/tv driven.

Darn! Age range and weight!!! I knew those!

Thank you ever so much on the feedback, I have taken them into consideration and shall make the changes promptly.
Btw Equity is the actual union name for British actors.

Cheers guys

Here is a basic American Resume:


US RESUME-ALWAYS use the 3 column format!
Here's the standard LA format. In NY, it's usually the same but with Theatre being higher up than Film/TV (/ denotes column breaks):

At the top and centered:
Name (Centered and is largest in font size)
Union affiliation (if any)
CELL Phone Number
Email

Far Left side below the top and centered stuff:
Height
Weight
Hair color
Eye color

Right side opposite of statistics:
Agent logo with contact info (sometimes if you have an agent, you can remove your own cell phone and email address. Then weirdos that find your stuff in the dumpster can contact them instead of you)

Film
Title/(Lead, supporting, featured)/Director

Television
Title/(Lead, guest star, co-star, regular, featured)/Network

Theatre
Title/Specific character played/Production company or director depending on who is more prestigious.

Commericials
ALWAYS put "List available upon request!" Do keep a separate list of the commercials with the Casting directors involved in case an agent asks.

Training
Skill learned/School or teacher/Location (LA, NY?)
OR
Skill learned/Teacher/School, Location
ie. Cold Reading/Margie Haber/Margie Haber Studios, LA,CA

Special Skills/Abilities
Be creative with this. When I was starting out and interviewing with agencies, they would usually go straight there and talk about my special talents and even had me demonstrate some of them

DON'T:
-Put extra work
-Put Modeling/Print gigs. You make a separate resume for that.
-Lie
-Put age. If an agent asks you when you meet with him or her, then tell the truth. It's for legal reasons. ie. Under 18 can't work normal hours and need parent/guardian to sign stuff or you have to be at least 25 to do a beer commercial.
-Put your home phone number or address unless you want weirdos coming to your house.
-Put dates. It ages you!
-Have it separate from your headshot. It should be cut to fit and stapled to the back of your headshot.