How to Use Actors Access (Profile, Submissions, Eco Cast)

Register for a free account, fill in your profile so role matching works, add two strong headshots with a SlateShot on each, upload short clips named by character type, then submit from the Breakdowns tab and answer audition invitations in CMail. The free Starter account submits your name and resume; Actors Access Plus sends your full profile. Every step and price below was checked on Actors Access as of November 2026.

What is Actors Access, and do you need it?

Actors Access is the actor side of Breakdown Services. Casting directors post projects to Breakdown Express and decide, project by project, whether to release them to actors on Actors Access too. Either way, casting sees your Actors Access profile, whether your reps submit it or you do. The system is explained in what is Breakdown Services.

Kym Jackson's advice: if you work in the US, build it first, but only submit for US roles if you can legally work there and get yourself to the job. Our Breakdown Services experts added that staff check projects before release; if one looks wrong, contact Breakdown Services, and never pay to audition.

How do you set up your Actors Access profile?

Per the registration guide, actors 13 and over register themselves; a parent or legal guardian registers a child under 13. After the activation email, fill in three pages:

• About Me: the age range, gender and ethnic appearance you can play (these drive role matching), height, weight, union status, skills, accents and languages.
• Resume: credits in three columns (project, role, director or production) under header rows such as Film and Television, most recent first.
• Size card: wardrobe sizes, which you can attach automatically to commercial submissions.

For what to list, see special skills and acting resume format.

Which photos should you put on Actors Access?

As of November 2026, the photo pricing page says two photos are free and can be swapped as often as you like. Extra photos are $10 each and can't be swapped free.

Blair Hickey and Brian Wold of CastingAbout argue for fewer, targeted photos. Work out the story you tell best, then choose headshots that sell exactly that. Thirty looks make you forgettable; two with a similar tone make you memorable.

What is a SlateShot, and do you need one?

A SlateShot is a seven-second video attached to one headshot, so casting can see and hear you. Breakdown Services says your first SlateShot is free and each photo can have its own.

Kym puts one on every photo: it only counts for the headshot it's attached to, and submissions with video and a SlateShot are in the group casting sees first. Casting director Meg Morman gave the balancing view: she mainly watches SlateShots when there's no reel, or to hear an accent. The audition books the job.

How should you upload your reel and clips?

As of November 2026, video costs $22 a minute and audio $11 a minute, rounded up with a four-second grace period, so a clip up to 1:04 is charged as one minute. Cutting an uploaded reel into clips is free.

Kym uploads both: the full reel for bigger roles, and short clips that reps attach to specific submissions. Name each clip by character type, such as "angry wife" or "calm doctor", with the show's name in the description.

Is Actors Access free? What does Plus cost?

What Breakdown Services publishes, as of November 2026:

Sources: the memberships page, the Breakdown Services FAQ and All About Actors Access Plus. SAG-AFTRA members listed as current on their profile get 20 percent off the annual plan only. Kym's view: if you self-submit, the annual plan stops you weighing the cost of every click.

How do you submit for a role on Actors Access?

The submission guide sets it out:

1. Open Breakdowns, choose your region, filter by Breakdowns Fit For Me or union status, and search.
2. Open a project and read the whole breakdown. Roles matching your profile are highlighted.
3. Click the role. On Starter, choose Submit for Free. On Plus, pick the photo, media, size card and, if casting allows, a note. Keep the note to one useful line, such as "Plays piano".
4. Submit. You can't edit or withdraw it afterwards.

Submit the day a breakdown posts: the guide says casting often finds who it needs on day one. Strategy is in how to self-submit.

What do casting directors see when you submit?

Per What Do Casting Directors See?, casting sees your name and chosen headshot, with icons for your resume, photos, submitted media and SlateShot. They can sort by submission time, name, profile completeness or at random. Your address and email are never shown, and casting contacts you through CMail.

Agent and self-submissions land in one list. Blair Hickey and Brian Wold told us the default view is random within groups, with video plus SlateShot first.

How do Eco Cast invitations work?

Per the Eco Cast guide, the invitation arrives in CMail with instructions, sides and a deadline in your local time. Click Confirm Audition to unlock the sides and Upload Media, upload each file (under 500MB), then Submit Audition, which locks it. A 12:00 AM deadline means before midnight the night before. Plus isn't needed.

Our Breakdown Services experts suggest sorting your space, light and sound before any invitation arrives. Delivery details are in how to send a self tape.

How do you link your agent and share your profile?

Your agent or manager sends a roster invitation from noreply@actorsaccess.com; the linking guide says its link expires after three days. Under My Representation, mark each rep as commercial, theatrical or manager.

Your Custom Link is a public profile page without contact details. Kym sends it when she pitches herself, because a casting office can add you to a session straight from it.

Want the whole library? Start your 7-day free trial and watch every answer on this page.

All rates current from actorsaccess.com, actorsaccess.freshdesk.com and breakdownservices.com as of 9 November 2026.