Actors Access

Actors Access Review:

Actors Access is the one of the few acting/casting-job websites that allow you to put up a profile without paying a monthly fee.

Run by a company called Breakdown Services, the site also publishes listings of thousands of productions that are in the works, detailing a summary of each of the production’s characters. Agents who use the service can then submit the resumes of appropriate actors to fill those roles.

How it works

Actors registering on the site can publish a resume, note any special skills they have, their physical characteristics (Size Card), who your talent representatives are, and post two headshots. The free account also gives you the ability to look at breakdowns — summaries of upcoming movie roles — and get match alerts.

If you want to post additional headshots, video, or audio files, the site charges a one-time fee.

Additional services

What are the one-time fees? And are they worth it?

• $10 for an additional photo
• $22 per minute of video
• $11 per minute of audio
• $5 additional per SlateShot℠ (a 7-second video head-shot)

You’ll have to decide whether the additional expense is worth it. However, if you aspire to voice-over work, it probably does make sense to add a snippet of audio. And, additional photos, SlateShots and video can be helpful to show your range.

Premium membership

Actors Access also sells a premium membership for $68 a year (or $10 a month), that allows you to submit your resume to casting directors.

Do you need a premium membership? If you have an agent, you probably don’t.

But, if you have yet to find someone to represent you, it gives you direct access to sending your resume to some casting directors. Notably, those casting directors are generally not handling big-budget productions. Those who allow actors to contact them directly are typically casting non-union and student films. So, paying $68 annually is not likely to land you that “big break.” But for about $5.50 a month, it might be worth trying.

Recommendations

This is one of the few acting/casting websites that is worth registering for. And, while the premium membership is not necessary, you may want to pay the site’s fees for some additional services.

Other sites worth checking out to forward your acting career are Backstage and Playbill. Both have free casting emails, but charge a premium if you want to apply through their sites.

What their users say:

“Not a scam at all. It has been around for a long time, and has a number of high paying projects on there. A definite must have (as far as casting sites) in my opinion.”

“It’s not a scam, but if you have zero experience and you’re in the middle of nowhere it won’t do you much good. Do you have training? Headshots? A reel? Are you in an area with a decent amount of work, or at least film schools? If the answer to all of those is yes, then go for it. If you have a little training/experience, and good headshots, and you’re in an area with a little action, still go for it. You can get material for a reel by doing student/short films, which are pretty abundant on AA.”

Says Actress Rebecca Metz on Quora:

Actors Access is run by Breakdown Services, Inc. which is used by virtually every legitimate agent and casting director as a means of distributing casting information in real time. (That’s not to say BSI doesn’t have its problems, but that’s another discussion.)

Actors can use the site in two ways.

1. Professional actors maintain profiles on the site and give our reps access to the material there (headshots, reels, etc.) which they submit to casting in response to those breakdowns. Actors do not have access to that casting information and cannot submit ourselves.
2. Casting offices as well as smaller producers and student/independent projects can choose to make certain casting notices available to actors so they can submit themselves directly rather than through their representation. These listings are often non-union, low budget/commercial/industrial projects, very small roles, or very specific roles in union projects that they’re having a hard time casting.

Updated 1/30/2023