Your 8x10 Resume: The Credits

Here are some things to remember with respect to deciding what you want to appear on your resume. Do not overly emphasize your singing and/or dancing background. It may be stupid, but Hollywood will pigeonhole you as a singer/dancer rather than an actor and assume you're not as right for the role as an actor who appears to have focused solely on acting. You should place these types of skills at the end of your resume under "SPECIAL SKILLS." Also do not emphasize your community or college credits on your resume. If they’re all you have, you don’t need to leave those credits off your resume, but you should avoid the words college and community theatre. For instance, early on in my career, I had a credit from UCLA on my resume. The best policy for that credit is to use the name of the theatre as the location where the play was performed. I’ll explain how you describe your credits in a moment.

In terms of listing your credits, you will always put your best credits first (BCF). That is, what are the most recognizable shows or films, and what was your role? People read from top to bottom, so put your best foot forward.

Start with your television or film credits, depending on which you have best credits for. Create a heading (“FILM” or “TELEVISION”) and list the credits in three columns from left to right, starting with the name of the show or film, typically in all caps. In the second column (just use a good tab point to create a table) you'll put down the type of role you played in the production. In television you'll use "Starring," "Guest Star," "Recurring" (for a role you come back for in more than one episode). Just use the show as your guide. The credit that appears onscreen is the credit that appears on your resume. Film credits are a little different. If you starred in the film, you were the "Lead" (as in a romantic lead). Otherwise, you may have been a "Supporting" player, such as Aaron Eckhart in Erin Brockovich. "Featured" is not meant for your background performances. If you didn't have dialog, it doesn't belong on the resume. If you worked one day on a movie, as a day player like the actress from Meet the Parents whom I mentioned in my first column, that's a featured role. If you don't have any major feature credits, put your industrial credits, student film credits, etc. under this section.

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