Acting CV Example
Updated 7 July 2026
An acting CV is not an office CV. It's a single A4 page that sits on the back of your headshot, designed to give casting directors your credits, stats and skills at a glance. This guide shows you the format casting actually uses, with real examples at entry and established level.
Acting CV examples
Recent Graduate Actor
entryLeads with drama-school training and student productions; realistic playing age and skills without padding.
Established Screen & Stage Actor
seniorCredits grouped by medium and ordered for screen submissions; directors named; Spotlight PIN and agent shown; realistic skill set.
How to write an acting CV
An acting CV follows its own rules. One page, black-on-white (it gets photocopied), and structured to be scanned in seconds.
Format and layout
Your name and contact details go at the top, followed by physical stats (playing age, height, build, hair, eyes, voice character). If you have a Spotlight PIN and agent, show them here. Then credits, grouped by medium, Theatre, Television, Film, Commercial, Radio/Voiceover, Short Film, in a table: Production · Role · Company/Venue · Director · Year. Order the blocks by what matters for the submission: lead with Theatre credits for a stage audition, screen credits for a TV role.
What to include in each section
| Section | What to include |
|---|---|
| Contact & stats | Name, agent (or personal contact), Spotlight PIN, playing age (not real age), height, build, hair, eyes, voice character |
| Training | Drama school, graduation year, further courses (voice, movement, stage combat). Goes near the top, casting directors use school + year to place you |
| Credits | Production title, character name, company/venue, director, year. Group by medium. Spell every name correctly, directors may be called for a reference |
| Special skills | Accents (mark native), singing voice type & range, dance, stage combat, instruments, languages, driving licence. Only list what you can deliver on demand |
Personal statement
Most acting CVs carry no personal statement at all, the credits do the talking. If you include one, keep it to two lines maximum: a brief third-person summary if experienced, a short objective if starting out. This is not the place for the long profile of an office CV.
Training
Put your drama school name and graduation year near the top. Training carries real weight in UK casting, actors without enough of it are viewed negatively, and casting directors use the school to place who you are. Include further courses (voice, stage combat, dialect) below your main training.
Credits
Each credit should show character name, production title, company or venue, director, and year. List them in a clean table, grouped by medium. The order of the medium blocks should match the submission: Shakespeare credits at the top for The Globe, screen credits at the top for a TV casting.
Directors' names matter. Casting directors recognise them and may call them for a reference, so spell every production, playwright and director name correctly. A typo can cost you the call.
Don't list non-speaking extra or background work, especially if it was a non-speaking role. It reads as inexperience. Early-career, build the CV with short films, fringe or local theatre, student films and drama-school productions instead.
Keep credits current. A CV with nothing added for three years reads as "hasn't worked in three years," not "hasn't bothered updating."
Personal statement examples
Recent RADA graduate with classical training and strong physical theatre skills. Experienced in Shakespeare, Chekhov and new writing.
Passionate and hardworking actor looking for opportunities to grow and develop my craft in theatre, film and television. A dedicated team player with a love of storytelling.
Writing your experience
Acting credits are not written as job descriptions with bullet points. Each credit is a single table row: Production · Role · Company/Venue · Director · Year.
The credit format
List the production title, your character name, the company or venue, the director's full name, and the year. Group credits by medium (Theatre, Television, Film, Commercial, etc.) and order each block by relevance to the role you're submitting for.
Theatre credit: Macbeth · Macbeth · Royal Exchange Theatre · dir. Bryony Shanahan · 2024
Television credit: Silent Witness Series 28 · DI Frank Hale (series regular) · BBC One · dir. Jennie Darnell · 2025
Film credit: Untitled indie feature · Lead · See-Saw Films · dir. Clio Barnard · 2025 (in post-production)
What casting directors look for
Casting directors scan for:
- Recognisable directors or companies, they may call the director for a reference
- Character type and range, are you playing leads, supporting, ensemble?
- Medium experience, have you done screen work if it's a TV role? Shakespeare if it's classical?
- Recency, when did you last work?
Spell every name correctly. A misspelled director or playwright name looks careless and can cost you the call.
Before and after
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Worked on various theatre productions in London | The Crucible · Abigail Williams · Guildhall School · dir. Emma Clarke · 2024 |
| Featured in a BBC drama | Silent Witness Series 28 · DI Frank Hale (series regular) · BBC One · dir. Jennie Darnell · 2025 |
| Extra in Netflix series | (Omit, non-speaking background work should not appear as a credit) |
Action verbs (rarely needed)
Acting CVs don't use action verbs the way office CVs do. The credit format is fixed. The only place you might write a sentence is a two-line personal statement, where you'd use third person: "trained at," "experienced in," "specialises in."
Key skills & ATS keywords
Hard skills
Soft skills
ATS keywords
Education & certifications
Training
Put your drama school at the top of the CV, just below your physical stats. Include the full name of the institution, the qualification (BA Acting, MA, Diploma), and your graduation year. If you're early-career, you can list notable productions or modules (Voice: Linklater technique; Movement: Laban, stage combat).
Training carries real weight in UK casting. Actors without enough formal training are viewed negatively, and casting directors use the school and year to place who you are in the industry.
Example (recent graduate): Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) · BA (Hons) Acting · 2021–2024
Example (established): Guildhall School of Music & Drama · BA (Hons) Acting · 2018–2021
Further training and certifications
List additional courses below your main training: stage combat, voice coaching, dialect work, screen acting, movement (Laban, Viewpoints, Alexander Technique). Include the awarding body and year.
Stage combat is particularly valued. If you hold a BASSC (British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat) certificate, state the level (Foundation, Intermediate, Advanced) and disciplines (unarmed, rapier & dagger, broadsword, quarterstaff).
Example: British Academy of Stage & Screen Combat · Advanced Stage Combat (unarmed, rapier & dagger, broadsword) · 2022
What if I have no drama school training?
If you haven't attended a full-time drama school, list any part-time courses, workshops or youth theatre experience you do have: National Youth Theatre, evening classes at drama studios, weekend intensives. Be honest about the level, casting directors can tell the difference between a three-year BA and a weekend workshop, and that's fine. What matters is showing you've invested in learning the craft.
If you're completely new, consider enrolling in a recognised part-time course or joining a local theatre company to build training credits before submitting professionally.
Common mistakes to avoid
Listing non-speaking extra or background work as credits
Omit extra work entirely. Build your CV with short films, fringe theatre, student films and drama-school productions instead. Background work reads as inexperience.
Padding special skills with things you can't really do
Only list skills you can deliver convincingly on demand. Casting may ask you to demonstrate an accent or ride a horse in the audition. A false claim either fails in the room or burns the relationship.
Stating your real age or date of birth
State a playing-age range instead (e.g. 25–35). Casting directors filter searches by playing age, and you're unlikely to be cast outside a realistic ten-year span. Be honest about what you can convincingly play.
Using an out-of-date headshot
Your headshot must match how you look right now. An old photo that doesn't match you in the room costs you the room. Update your headshot every 1–2 years or whenever your appearance changes.
Misspelling directors', playwrights' or production names
Spell every name correctly. Casting directors may call the director for a reference, and a typo looks careless. Double-check every credit before you send.
Not updating the CV for three years
A CV with no recent credits reads as 'hasn't worked in three years.' Keep it current. If you haven't had professional work, add fringe theatre, short films or new training to show you're active.
Junior vs senior: what changes
| Aspect | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|
| Credits | Drama-school productions, student films, fringe theatre, short films. Character names may include ensemble or understudy roles. | Professional theatre (regional, West End, National), television series regulars or guest leads, feature films. Named character roles with recognisable directors. |
| Training | Drama school name and graduation year at the top. May list modules or notable school productions to fill space. | Drama school and year listed, but credits do the heavy lifting. Further training (stage combat, voice, dialect) shown below to demonstrate ongoing development. |
| Special skills | Focused list: native accent, one or two learned accents, singing if trained, any stage combat or instruments. No padding. | Broader skill set built over years: multiple accents, advanced stage combat (BASSC certified), specialist skills (horseriding, stunt driving, instruments to performance level). |
| Representation | Personal contact details (mobile, email). No Spotlight PIN or agent yet. | Spotlight PIN shown. Agent name and contact details listed; casting directed to the agent rather than the actor's personal number. |
| Credit grouping | May have only one or two medium blocks (Theatre, Short Film). Order is less critical because there's less to choose from. | Credits grouped by medium (Theatre, Television, Film, Commercial, Radio) and reordered for each submission to lead with the most relevant block. |
| Director names | Directors may be less well-known (drama-school tutors, fringe directors, student filmmakers). Still spell every name correctly. | Directors are often recognisable industry names. Casting may call them for a reference, so accuracy is critical. |