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Actor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Quoted Experts
Aaron Todd Douglas,
Tim Threlfall
Actor Example Skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical actor skills. We ranked the top skills for actors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 25.7% of actor resumes contained makeup as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills an actor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 actor skills for your resume and career

1. Makeup

Makeup is the process of using cosmetic products to enhance the beauty of the face. The makeup process includes improving all facial features like the eye-lashes and brows, cheeks, lips, and sometimes neck. Makeup can also be used in other terms as the combination of the various constituents of a particular thing.

Here's how actors use makeup:
  • Applied grease paint, powder and airbrush makeup for self and others in the ensemble.
  • Choose appropriate clothing and apply stage makeup to simulate injury as designated by the role.

2. Improv

Here's how actors use improv:
  • Perform in sketch & improv comedy shows* Operate lights and sound for comedy shows
  • Entertain patrons through improv acting; Participate in the daily parade and dances.

3. Music Videos

Music videos are short films or videos that feature a song and imagery and are produced either for artistic or promotional purposes.

Here's how actors use music videos:
  • Worked in commercials, promos and music videos with clients including Sprint, AT&T, Maroon 5 and Guitar Center
  • Acted in numerous theater productions, music videos, internet web series, and award-winning short films.

4. Costumes

Here's how actors use costumes:
  • Organized costumes and props, as well as assisted with tear down of scenes at the end of the season.
  • Work during the off season to develop script, theme, costumes, props, and set design.

5. Drama

Here's how actors use drama:
  • Write original or adapted material for drama, comedies, puppet shoes, narration and other performances.
  • Portrayed Daniel Boone in the outdoor historical revolutionary war drama Horn in the West.

6. Teamwork

Teamwork refers to the act of working with colleagues to complete a project. This is required in many careers regardless of the field. Teamwork may include simply lifting a piece of machinery with the help of several people or tackling a large project made easier with the help of multiple skill sets and perspectives.

Here's how actors use teamwork:
  • Enhanced the attraction by following strategies, tactics, and teamwork with co-workers.
  • Worked two summers on a team of actors for Hanover College Work involved acting, heavy lifting, teamwork, extensive planning

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7. Body Movements

Here's how actors use body movements:
  • Portray and interpret roles, using speech, gestures, and body movements in order to entertain a live audience.
  • Interpret serious or comic role by speech, gesture, and body movement to entertain or inform audience.
Select Skills To Add To Your Resume

8. Public Speaking

Public Speaking or oration, as it is sometimes known, is the act of any one person speaking live in front of an audience. Although in the past the audience was only a physical one, nowadays oration might be done on an online video call, at a digital conference, at an online class, or elsewhere. The art of public speaking is very old, drawing its first established roots from Ancient Greece and likely from before, too. It is an important skill and asset in many industries.

Here's how actors use public speaking:
  • Utilize acting and public speaking skills onstage and on-camera to present client message with authority and authenticity.
  • Trained in voice and speech to improve and augment public speaking and public interview skills.

9. NYC

NYC stands for New York City.

Here's how actors use nyc:
  • Developed skills and training at comedy schools in NYC and performed at nationally recognized comedy clubs.
  • Performed in NYC theaters and touring companies across USA, Europe, South America, and Asia

10. Shakespeare

Here's how actors use shakespeare:
  • Talked with students, parents, and teachers about Shakespeare, and the importance of the arts in education.
  • Perform in various productions of Canal Fulton Players including Shakespeare productions on the St. Helena III.

11. Memorization

Here's how actors use memorization:
  • Learned choreography while also undertaking extensive line memorization.
  • Time intensive job with a requirement of memorization of up to 50 pages of new script each day.

12. Facial Expressions

Here's how actors use facial expressions:
  • Perform humorous and serious interpretations of emotions, actions, and situations, using bodymovements, facial expressions, and gestures.

13. Guild

Here's how actors use guild:
  • Screen Actors Guild member and Actors' Equity Association member.
  • Earned Screen actors guild and AFTRA union cards in 1988.

14. ABC

ABC commonly stands for the American Broadcasting Company. It is an American commercial television broadcast network and the flagship property of Walt Disney. It is also a part of the Disney General Entertainment Content. ABC was founded on October 12th, 1943. The company's headquarters is based in New York.

Here's how actors use abc:
  • Promoted branding to press via live television interviews on NBC, ABC, Fox News & live radio.
  • Performed in episodic television shows for NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX and WB

15. Sag-Aftra

Here's how actors use sag-aftra:
  • Appeared in several TV shows as well as commercials as SAG-AFTRA performer.
  • Film, TV, Commercial and Voice Over Preofessional Affiliations SAG-AFTRA
top-skills

What skills help Actors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on Actor resumes?

Aaron Todd Douglas

Director, University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater BFA Actor Training Program, University of Minnesota

The skills that stand out most are collaboration, problem-solving, concentration, and communication. Not only do our people develop the ability to collaborate with technical specialists (such as sound and lighting designers and technicians) as well as their own counterparts, but they can construct and deliver compelling narratives that communicate volumes quickly and efficiently. They are task-oriented and dogged in their pursuit of conscientious solutions that serve the collective good. They possess analysis and research skills with the necessary focus and follow-through to implement plans of action. Time management and people management skills are also critical in a theatrical production and the classroom.

With the confines of the pandemic and the rise of virtual communication and production, audio and visual technical skills complement most practitioners' skill sets. While it isn't necessarily a requisite, a working familiarity with technology is crucial. Nearly all Universities work with some Learning Management System such as Canvas or Blackboard. Instructors and students should also be versed in the basics like Office Suite, Pages, Adobe, etc., to create and edit scripts and other documents.

The attributes that distinguish the most successful Theatre Instructor applicants include a range of applicable professional experience, an advanced degree, and previous teaching experience. The standouts are personable, knowledgeable, and can identify with students from various backgrounds. A demonstrated commitment to lifelong learning and continued professional development is always a plus

What Actor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

T

Tim Threlfall

Head of MDT, Professor, Brigham Young University

Right now, I am guessing that television/film work will return faster and stronger than live theatre. Just go to Netflix or Amazon Prime and see the myriad television shows that are being produced. You can hardly even count them! Every network needs content, and the demand for actors is going to be strong, especially as they make up for lost time during the pandemic when not a lot of shows were in production.
For TV/film work, look to New York as much as LA. Look to Atlanta and Chicago and Vancouver BC. The film and television industry is everywhere right now. Many of our alum have agents in three to five different areas of the country.

What type of skills will young Actors need?

Jamie CheathamJamie Cheatham LinkedIn Profile

Head of Acting, Marquette University

The skillset of theatre artists entering the workforce shortly will not change too much. A solid foundation in the craft of theatre, whether in performance, design, or tech, remains rooted in our art form. While theatre does evolve, good theatre education comes with it. Since this spring, the real difference will be that much of the current work that is continuing in theatre has shifted to online formats. Auditions have often involved video submissions. These will likely become much more of an industry-standard, along with video callbacks and interviews. As classes continue to move online, so too do these online skills. So, the Covid-19 shut-down result has led, quite naturally, to the new set of skills that graduates will need. In particular, performers will have to pay a bit more attention to their home video production values, including adequate lighting, composition, and adjusting the scale of their work to the medium.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about Actor

List of actor skills to add to your resume

Actor Skills

The most important skills for an actor resume and required skills for an actor to have include:

  • Makeup
  • Improv
  • Music Videos
  • Costumes
  • Drama
  • Teamwork
  • Body Movements
  • Public Speaking
  • NYC
  • Shakespeare
  • Memorization
  • Facial Expressions
  • Guild
  • ABC
  • Sag-Aftra
  • TV Show
  • Feature Film
  • Television Show
  • Body Language
  • Stage Production
  • Television Commercials
  • Independent Film

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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