Not necessarily. Casting mostly happens on casting platforms, so a website is optional, but owning your name as a domain is not: buy it, point it at your best profile, and build a simple site later. We combined what casting directors told us about how they find actors with advice from Kym and our branding experts.
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Our experts lean the same way. Kym's view is that unless your agent or manager asks for one, you don't need it. Her clips, headshots and reel already live on her casting profiles and IMDb, so a site would only repeat them. A friend's agent once sent him to look up famous actors' websites. He couldn't find them, because professional actors generally don't have one.
Branding expert Ryan Basham is a little warmer: a website is nice for general awareness, but it isn't the highest priority. If you can't build one now, buy your domain, point it at your casting profile and make that profile excellent.
Rarely as a first stop. When casting directors described how they choose who to audition, they talked about casting platforms, agent submissions, reels and self-tapes. Lou Mitchell picks from the headshots and agent notes that come in on Casting Networks. Greg Apps said that when an unsolicited tape comes from someone he doesn't know, he investigates further and looks at their demo reel.
Our branding expert made the same point about IMDb: nobody casts from it alone, because anyone considering you has also seen your casting profile. Ryan Basham says a website earns its place with agents, managers and producers getting to know you before there is a specific role.
Because it's cheap insurance. Kym bought her name as a .com at about 17 and still has no website on it. Instead it gives her an email address at her own name, and it redirects visitors straight to her IMDb page.
She also shares a friend's warning: after their first big project, someone bought their name as a domain and it would have cost tens of thousands of dollars to get it back. Buy yours before anyone has a reason to.
Your casting profiles come first, because that's where agents submit you and where casting directors look. A website, if you have one, is a hub that points to them. Kym's rule for links: use the direct link to your own profile, not the casting site's home page. Many platforms let you set a custom profile link with your name in it.
Keep only your current reel on IMDb, Kym adds, so nobody clicks an old one.
Less than you think. Kym's version is one page: your demo reel on the home page, a headshot, a short bio, a downloadable PDF resume and direct links to IMDb and your casting profiles. Extra pages, such as press or trailers, should be clearly labelled.
Our branding expert names three essentials: headshots, resume and footage. An on-brand bio is a bonus, and you don't need a blog. Kym's test: can a busy person quickly see whether you look right, whether your essence fits and whether you can act?
Our experts differ. Our branding expert says one main headshot, with a comedic, a dramatic and a commercial shot as the most you need. Kym gives a website more freedom, suggesting a cap of around 10 to 20 headshots with no more than two or three of any one look, then production stills and behind-the-scenes photos if you want more. Either way, show only your best.
Upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and embed it, our branding expert says, rather than hosting the video file on your site. Kym puts it on the home page and suggests one reel, or a comedy and a drama reel, with any character clips or trailers clearly labelled and kept separate.
Casting directors are just as practical about links in general. Kerry Barden wants a link he can click without downloading, and Amanda Mitchell said she would never ask for a self-tape on a public site like YouTube, so always send tapes the way casting asks.
Your domain name is your address, the letters people type. Hosting is where your site's files live. One company can provide both, but they are separate things.
A domain should cost very little each year, Kym says, so shop around if you're quoted a lot. If you're outside the US, check a local registrar for your country's ending, such as .com.au. If you use a subscription website builder, our branding expert says pay to remove the builder's logo from your pages. Otherwise, he'd rather your domain simply redirect to your casting profile.
Only what fits your brand. If you play lawyers and doctors, says our branding expert, your clowning side gig probably doesn't belong. Link your socials and causes only when they're on brand. And don't buy advertising for a new acting site, he says, because nobody is searching for an actor by adjectives.
Not to start, according to voiceover expert David H. Lawrence XVII, because casting profiles cover the basics. Once you have demos and a body of work, a site shows you are serious. His design advice: one page, everything above the fold, with contact details, representation, playable demos and a short line about what you do.
Not necessarily. Kym and our branding expert both say a website is optional, but you should own your name as a domain.
They mostly work from casting platforms, agent submissions, reels and self-tapes. A website matters more to agents, managers and producers.
A headshot, your demo reel on the home page, a downloadable PDF resume and direct links to your casting profiles and IMDb. One clean page is enough.
Our branding expert says three at most. Kym allows more, around 10 to 20, with no more than two or three of any one look.
Upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and embed it on your site, rather than storing the video on your website's own server.
Yes. Buy yourname.com early, even if it only redirects to your IMDb or casting profile, so nobody else can claim it.
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