How to Determine Your Look

Background actors have the opportunity to get booked in a variety of roles, like nurses in Grey's Anatomy, 1960s mobsters in Godfather of Harlem and college students in Tell Me Lies. The key to getting cast involves more than just responding to messages, it's also about knowing your look. Once you have a handle on that, you'll know what jobs you're right for and increase your chances of being booked.

What is a look?

Your look refers to your appearance and your ability to portray a role. Wardrobe is used to enhance a look, but you should be able to convincingly portray a role without it. For example, throwing on a flannel and a beanie doesn't automatically make you a convincing hipster.

Your look can depend on a variety of factors, like hairstyle, facial hair, piercings and whether or not you have tattoos. Next time you make a change to your appearance, remember that your look may have changed as well.

How to figure out your look

When determining your look, it's important to remember that casting directors and production companies book their projects based off the aesthetic of the production. So being a doctor in real life doesn't mean you fit that production's idea of a doctor. That's why it's crucial to read messages and job posts carefully to ensure you fit the description.

If you're not sure of your look, ask your friends and family, people who you trust to be honest about the roles you can portray. Do they think you can pull off 18-to-look-younger? Do they believe you can convincingly portray a police officer? Your friends and family can help you answer these questions so you can submit for the right types of roles.

Add your appearance information to your online profile

One of the best ways to let casting directors and production companies know your current look is to keep the "Appearance" section of your profile updated with your accurate appearance information. We recommend filling out as many fields as possible to give casting directors and production companies a complete idea of your current look.

Accurate sizes are especially important since they are used by production to purchase or create wardrobe for you and when production needs background actors who can fit wardrobe they already have.

Don't forget to also make a selection in the "Playing Age" field in the "Key Information" section of your profile. If you don't make a selection in this field, you will not show up in searches when casting directors and production companies look for portrayable age ranges. We know you may be able to portray a range of ages, but pick the one that you feel is most representative of your look. Rest assured, casting directors and production companies look at multiple age ranges when searching for portrayable age.

Upload current photos to your profile

Your profile should always have a current headshot and full body photo that reflects how you look right now. We recommend updating these photos any time your look changes. Even slight changes, like going from a beard to goatee, can matter to casting directors.

Don't forget to delete any old photos that no longer reflect your current look. If you have a photo with long hair and another photo with a bob, casting directors and production companies will not be able to determine what your current look is.