common questions about resumes

Do I really NEED a resume?

Many modern submission forms will accept a link to IMDb in lieu of a resume, and plenty of working actors will admit they haven’t updated their resumes in years. However, there may still be times where you are specifically asked to send a resume, so it’s smart to have one just in case.

If you have a lot of credits on IMDb and are feeling overwhelmed by the idea of going through everything and putting it into a separate file, copy and paste your credit list into a Word document and work from there if need be. Resumes are less essential then they used to be now that everything can be found online, but they’re still considered an important part of an actor’s toolkit.

Is there any benefit to having a resume linked from my website as opposed to just linking to my IMDb, BTVA, etc?

This is mostly a matter of personal choice—plenty of actors simply link to their IMDb, as it can be updated dynamically as new credits appear as opposed to having to manually update a resume file yourself. Casting directors do commonly use IMDb to get an idea of an actor’s previous work, and it will likely also be looked at if you are applying to an agency.

However, many actors do still include their own credit listings on their websites, even if it’s just a collection of highlights of their most popular roles or impressive clients. This allows a potential decision maker to easily get an overview of an actor’s experience, with the option to click through to an IMDb page or download a more comprehensive PDF resume if desired.

One benefit to including your own resume or credit page somewhere on your website is that it allows you to curate which credits are displayed and in what order. It also allows you to list things like training and additional skills, or adjacent acting credits such as plays or student films. This can be especially beneficial to newer actors who don’t yet have a fleshed out page on IMDb or BTVA. And especially in the case of productions that don’t have credits, your own resume listing can be seen as a source for having worked on a certain title.

What file format should my resume be in?

PDF is the fairly universal standard. You can create your resume via whatever method you choose (Google Docs, Word, Open Office, Canva, etc), but exporting as a PDF will help ensure formatting consistency across multiple operating systems.

Does my resume need to be kept to a single page? How long is too long?

You may have heard traditional advice that a resume needs to fit on one page. This advice was commonly given to theatre and on-camera actors back in the day, who would be expected to print out a resume and staple it onto the back of their headshot. The resume was limited to a single page as it needed to fit to the same size as the actor’s headshot.

However, in the modern era, it would be almost unheard of to be asked to print out a hard copy of your resume, and voice actors will rarely be required to submit headshots with their auditions anyway. The digital age does provide some leeway for accomplished actors for whom it would be near impossible to narrow down their work highlights to a single page.

That being said…attention spans are short these days, and a resume that goes on for too long just starts to seem like noise. Remember that most casting directors will skim over the resume rather than reading it in-depth. Take the extra page if you feel it’s truly beneficial, but otherwise, work on paring things down to your most impressive career highlights.

I need to make my resume more concise, but how do I narrow down my list of credits?

If you have a very long list of credits (congratulations!), you can start being more selective with what you include on your resume. At that point, you should feature your most prominent credits (preferably the more recent ones), and prioritize roles where you played a lead or otherwise major character. Background work (unless for a very major client or production), projects that gained little to no popularity/prominence, and/or very old credits can start to go.

(If your goal is to document all of your credits – whether for your own records, to address fan speculation, or to serve as a wiki/database source, you may consider having a separate “unabridged resume” file or page as an optional link on your site.)

I also do on-camera and/or stage acting. Should I create a separate resume for voiceover, or keep them one and the same?

It depends. If you have a fairly substantial amount of work in each category, it can be beneficial to create separate, targeted resumes for each. It is still worth noting that you do both – for example, this could simply be a line in your on-camera resume saying “Voiceover credits available upon request” or vice-versa. You never know when it will come in handy! But if you decide to keep all your acting work in one single resume, make sure you have separate sections for TV/film, theatre, and voiceover.

Is it true that I should keep my resume very “bland” (black and white only, Times New Roman, etc)?

Old-fashioned resume advice will state that in order to look professional, a resume should be as simple as possible with no fancy fonts or color. But these days, personal branding is more important than ever—-which means you’ve got a little more leeway in making your resume stand out. Sites like Canva tend to be popular as they have easily customizable resume templates which range from classy and conservative options to something more bold and fun.

Now that resumes are viewed on computer or mobile phone screens, graphics and colors—which may have previously been seen as no-no’s on traditional printed resumes—have become more common. Including your logo at the top and using a pop of your branding colors can add an element of personality and interest to your resume. Sleek fonts can help your resume look more modern, but it’s important that any text remains easy to read.

Important Note: Do not use generative AI to create your acting resume! This is an immediate turnoff that could get it tossed in the trash. If you are using a third-party resume builder or template service, the idea of being able to put in your information and have the system generate a resume for you may seem quite tempting, but AI-created resumes seem soulless and unoriginal…and many creative professionals, such as those who may be reviewing your resume, are against the use of generative AI. Using an existing resume template and making it your own is fine, but you’ve still got to put in the work yourself!

I’m a beginner and don’t really have any credits yet. What can I put on a resume?

List any type of training you have (high school drama class and singing lessons count), as well as ANY acting or narration experience—-for example, school musicals, church plays, or volunteering at a radio station. If you are new and looking to build up a resume, consider auditioning for student films, unpaid audio dramas, or other original work. Even if you’re not getting paid for it, it’s still a credit you can use in the meantime. (No one needs to know whether or not you got paid for the roles listed on your resume—-all that matters is that you did them!)

Can I include projects that were cancelled, unreleased, or still in production?

If you were officially cast and credited in a production but it never ended up being released, you can probably still include it on your resume. In the case of something like a pilot animation that later moved forward with a different cast, you can indicate something like “(Pilot)” next to the project name or role. But if a project was simply an idea/concept that you were “cast” in but never actually recorded for, it’s best to leave it out.

When it comes to anything still in production, be extremely careful not to breach any non-disclosure agreements. Actors can and have gotten in trouble for including confidential projects on their resume before they were released. Even including a listing like “Confidential/TBA” on a public resume but listing the client or publisher name could be considered a breach of NDA, as it can be relatively easy for fans to deduce what you’re working on (yes, this happened to an actor before!) If in doubt, ask your client or director for permission or wait until the official announcement/release before you update your credit list.

Do I have to list a role or project I’m not particularly proud of?

No. You are free to curate your acting resume as you see fit, and list the projects that you feel will be most impressive to potential clients. Do keep in mind that it can be extremely difficult to get credits removed from third-party databases such as IMDb, so consider using a pseudonym if you anticipate not wanting to be associated with a certain project.

If I reprise my role for a sequel, should I list the projects together or separately?

It’s generally better to combine direct continuations of a franchise into one single entry. For example, if you played the same character in three different iterations of a game called “Big Scary Zombies”, consider listing the credit as “Big Scary Zombies I/II/III” or “Big Scary Zombies (series)”.

In the case of a spin-off or projects in different types of media (for example, if you work on an anime and later reprise your role in a video game based on the series, or you played a character in one IP that later appears as a crossover character for another IP), it’s acceptable to list as a separate project if you prefer…and it can be a little trick to help pad your resume if needed.

What order should I list my credits in?

Sites like IMDb list an actor’s credits in reverse chronological order, with the most recent productions listed at the top. However, if you are creating your own resume, it’s generally better to list your most impressive credits first. You do not need to list the year each project was released.

What is a “visual resume”?

If you do a lot of character work, a visual resume includes a picture of characters you play in various productions (see the actor pages on BTVA for examples.) A visual resume is completely optional, and doesn’t take the place of a traditional acting resume, but it can help casting directors see “at a glance” what types of roles you might go out for and, if you’re also trying to market yourself to fans or convention organizers, help your roles be more easily recognizable. Character visuals tend to grab attention more than a long listing of text, but this is best suited as a page on your website highlighting your past work as opposed to a PDF sent to casting directors or agents.

what to include on a resume

Your name

Obviously, this should be first and foremost! This should be whatever name you use for your voiceover credits (either your real name or professional stage name.)

Basic contact information

This should be your business email address and a link to your acting website. If you are represented by an agency, you may include your agency name and contact information here. If you are based in a major market, you may wish to list the city you can work as a local hire to (ex: Los Angeles, CA or London, UK.)

Note that it is not recommended to include your phone number. While this was more common in the era of printed resumes, most business is conducted via email nowadays. If a studio or casting person later needs your phone number, it can be exchanged privately—there is no sense in compromising your personal safety or privacy by posting it online.

Work experience, separated by categories

This is the core of your resume and the most important part! Prioritize listing your most prominent and impressive credits, and work your way down from there.

Unless you have only a very small handful of credits, it’s common to separate your resume into sections based on the type of media. Organize these sections in the way that makes the most sense for your body of work. As an example, common resume sections for voice actors might include ANIMATION, VIDEO GAMES, COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL, and NARRATION. If you’re padding your VO resume by including stage or screen work, these should always be listed in separate categories.

This three-column format is common for actor resumes:
PROJECT TITLE – ROLE – CLIENT/DIRECTOR
(ex: BIG SCARY ZOMBIES – LILLIA – CHUNGUS GAMES)

*Some actors like to include the importance of the role (ex: principal, supporting) as chances are those reviewing your resume won’t be familiar with the specific character names, but it’s not a necessity.
*Including the director name is more common for stage and on-camera work. In VO, you may have multiple directors working on a single project, so it generally makes more sense to list the client or publisher.

Training

Any type of acting classes (whether or not they were VO specific), specialized workshops, or coaching can be listed here. Include the class topic as well as the name of the teacher or school/organization.
(ex: CHARACTER VOICES FOR ANIMATION – MARY SMITH)

If you find yourself having studied a lot of similar topics with different teachers, these can be condensed as follows:
ANIMATION: Mary Smith, Ryan Jones, Dave Davidson
VIDEO GAMES: Jane Doe, Norman South
PRIVATE COACHING: Dawn Sky (audiobooks), William Mays (commercial)

Listing your training/education is especially important if you are a new actor without a lot of credits yet, but this can be pared down significantly for experienced actors who already have a vast body of work to show for themselves.

Special skills

Anything you’re able to do that is unique or helpful to your work as a voice actor (speaking another language, proficiency in certain accents and dialects, singing, motion capture, ADR dubbing, etc).

*Keep it relevant—-it’s great that you can teach horses to juggle, but that probably won’t be of any relevance to a casting director.
*Keep it truthful—if you say you are fluent in a certain language, expect that you may be asked to audition for a project in that language. If you say that you can sight-read music, don’t balk if you are given sheet music for a singing audition.

(Optional) Social media handles

Including your social media accounts isn’t necessary by any means, but it can be beneficial if you have an existing online presence (and especially if you have a lot of followers.) It is recommended to only list public social media pages that you are reasonably active on and use for work as opposed to private, placeholder or personal accounts. If you do decide to include your socials, you can list them at the top with the rest of your contact information.

(Optional) Home studio overview

If you work primarily as a remote talent, you may find it helpful to include a very brief overview of your home recording capabilities (ex: “Full home studio with Vocal Booth, Neumann TLM 103, SSL2 and Source Connect capabilities.”) Because it’s common to already have a section of your website dedicated to listing your home studio specs, you don’t need to go into great detail here as space on your resume is already at a premium.

what NOT to include on a resume

Objectives

Old-fashioned resumes for 9-5 jobs traditionally included an “objectives” section, meant to highlight the applicant’s professional goals. But these days it’s considered a waste of space even for those jobs, and wholly irrelevant for actors—after all, every actor’s objective at the end of the day is to get work!

Height/weight/measurements

You’ll often see these in templates for modeling and on-camera acting resumes, but unless you also do those things and have a single resume you use to submit for them all, they are irrelevant to voice acting.

References

Your work should ultimately speak for itself—you do not need to include “references” or testimonials on an acting resume. “References available on request” may be seen on resume templates for traditional employment, but this is also considered needless filler. For voiceover, the way a referral typically works is that someone introduces you to one of their industry contacts—you won’t be expected to give clients the contact information of those you’ve worked with before (nor should you!)

Fan projects

Fan projects (such as fandubs, comic dubs, or abridged series) are okay if you are doing this purely as a hobby and using an amateur voice acting resume to market yourself for similar online unpaid projects. However, they should not be listed on a resume that is sent to professional studios, agencies, or casting directors. Putting fan projects on an official resume can easily be seen as unprofessional or even misleading. Unpaid projects are okay to list as a resume filler for new actors as long as they are original projects that don’t make use of someone else’s IP.

Bio, hobbies, or other personal info

This information does not belong on your resume itself. Instead, include it in your bio page on your IMDb and the “about” page of your website.