Step-by-step guide to creating your account, choosing the right membership, and building a profile that gets you seen.

How to Set Up Your Casting Networks Profile — Step by Step

Casting Networks is the largest casting platform in the world. If you are not on it, you are invisible for the majority of professional casting — theatrical and commercial — in every US market, plus Australia and New Zealand. This is not optional. This is step one.

This guide walks you through everything: creating your account, choosing the right membership, building a profile that casting directors actually want to click on, and submitting for your first role. Follow it in order. Do not skip steps.

Step 1: Create Your Account

Go to castingnetworks.com
Click "Join Now" or "Sign Up" (top right corner)
Select "I am Talent" — not Representative, not Casting
Enter your legal name, email, and create a password
Confirm your email address through the verification link they send you

🎯 Industry Insight: Use your professional name — the name you audition under. If your legal name is different from your stage name, you can set your stage name in your profile later. But start with whatever name casting directors will know you by.

Your account is now created with a free basic profile. You can browse the platform, but you cannot self-submit for roles or access most features until you upgrade to Premium.

Step 2: Choose Your Membership

Casting Networks offers two tiers:

Feature	Free	Premium ($29.99/month or $299.90/year)
Profile visible to casting	✅	✅
Agent can submit you	✅	✅
Self-submit on Casting Billboard	❌	✅
Unlimited media uploads	❌	✅
Role Tracker (see who viewed you)	❌	✅
Talent Scout (agent matching)	❌	✅
Custom profile link	❌	✅
Social media linking	❌	✅

Get Premium. If you are serious about acting as a career, the free tier is not enough. You cannot self-submit without Premium, which means you are entirely dependent on having an agent to get seen. The $29.99/month is a baseline business expense — like a phone bill for your career.

⚠️ Warning: Do not sign up for free and tell yourself you will upgrade "when you start getting auditions." You will not get auditions on Casting Networks without Premium because you cannot submit yourself. The auditions come after you invest, not before.

To upgrade:

Go to Account Settings → Membership
Select Premium
Choose monthly ($29.99) or annual ($299.90 — saves you about $60/year)
Enter payment information

Step 3: Upload Your Headshots

This is the most important part of your profile. Casting directors see your headshot as a tiny thumbnail in a grid of hundreds. If it does not pop at that size, nothing else matters.

Go to Your Profile → Photos
Click "Upload Photo"
Upload your primary theatrical headshot first — this is the one that appears by default
Add your commercial headshot as a second look
Add any additional character looks you have

Photo requirements:

JPEG or PNG format
At least 1200 pixels wide (higher resolution is better)
Vertical orientation (portrait, not landscape)
Professional quality — not a selfie, not a friend with a camera

Which headshot goes first: Your primary headshot should be the look you submit for most often. For most actors, that is a theatrical headshot — natural lighting, specific expression, eyes in sharp focus. If you primarily do commercial work, lead with your commercial look.

💡 Pro Tip: After uploading, shrink the thumbnail to the size of a postage stamp on your screen. Can you still see your eyes clearly? Does your face separate from the background? If not, that headshot is failing you at the size casting directors actually see it. Choose a different shot or schedule a new session.

Step 4: Complete Your Profile Information

Go to Your Profile and fill out every single section. Casting directors use search filters — if you leave a field blank, you will not appear in searches for that attribute.

Personal Details

Height — exact, not rounded up
Weight range — be honest
Eye color, hair color — as you currently look, not as you looked in college
Age range — what ages you realistically play, not what you wish you could play
Ethnicity — select all that apply
Body type — casting searches by this

Union Status

Select your current union affiliation: SAG-AFTRA, Non-Union, SAG-Eligible, Fi-Core
If you are SAG-AFTRA, enter your member ID

Location and Availability

Set your primary market (Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, etc.)
Set your availability — are you local hire only, or willing to travel?
If you are willing to work as a local hire in multiple markets, list them

The "About" Section

You get 200 characters. Use them. This is a first impression.

Good: "NYC-based. Stage combat certified. Conversational Spanish. Recently recurring on Blue Bloods (CBS). Repped by Innovative Artists."

Bad: "Passionate actor who loves the craft and is excited about every opportunity to grow and learn." ← This tells casting nothing.

✅ Key Point: Every blank field is a missed search result. When a casting director searches for "female, 30s, speaks French, rock climbing experience" — if you speak French and rock climb but did not list those skills, you are invisible for that search. Fill out everything.

Step 5: Add Your Credits

Go to Your Profile → Credits
Click "Add Credit"
For each credit, enter:
- Project title
- Role name
- Role type (Lead, Supporting, Co-Star, Guest Star, etc.)
- Production type (Film, Television, Commercial, Theater, New Media)
- Director and/or Casting Director name if you know it
- Year

Order matters. Put your strongest, most recognizable credits first. If you have TV credits, those go above student films. If you have credits with recognizable casting directors or on known shows, lead with those.

If you have zero credits: That is fine. Skip this section for now and make sure your training section is strong. Casting directors understand that everyone starts somewhere — they will look at your training instead.

Step 6: Add Your Training

Go to Your Profile → Training
Add each program, class, or workshop:
- Institution or teacher name
- Type of training (Scene Study, On-Camera, Improv, Voice, etc.)
- Duration or dates

List your most impressive or recognized training first. A conservatory program or well-known teacher name carries weight, especially if your credits are light.

Step 7: List Your Skills

Go to Your Profile → Skills and add every legitimate skill you have.

"Legitimate" means you can do it on set, on the day, without warming up for an hour. Do not list "horseback riding" if you rode a horse once at summer camp. Do not list "fluent French" if you took two semesters in college.

Skills that casting directors commonly search for:

Languages (specify fluency level: fluent, conversational, basic)
Accents and dialects (only ones you can do convincingly)
Athletic skills (swimming, martial arts, yoga, dance styles)
Driving (motorcycle, manual transmission, commercial vehicle)
Musical instruments
Combat/stunts (stage combat, firearms handling)
Technical skills (medical terminology, legal jargon)

Step 8: Upload Your Demo Reel and Media

Go to Your Profile → Media
Upload your demo reel (2 minutes max, lead with your strongest work)
Upload individual scene clips if you have them — some casting directors prefer to watch a single relevant clip rather than a full reel
Upload your slate/SlateShot if you have one

Video specs:

MP4 or MOV format
1080p resolution minimum
Good audio — if your reel has bad sound, it hurts more than it helps

If you do not have a reel yet: Do not upload nothing. Create a simple, well-lit SlateShot — a 15-to-30-second video of you slating your name, saying a sentence or two that shows your personality. This gives casting directors a sense of how you come across on camera, which is better than a blank media section.

Premium members can link Instagram and YouTube profiles, which display your follower/subscriber counts directly on your profile.

Go to Your Profile → Social Media
Connect your Instagram and/or YouTube accounts

This is worth doing if you have a meaningful following (1,000+). Casting directors and producers increasingly care about an actor's social reach, especially for commercial and digital content work.

Step 10: Start Submitting

Now you are ready to find and submit for roles.

Go to the Casting Billboard (main navigation)
Use filters to narrow by: your gender, age range, location, union status, and role type
Click on a breakdown to read the full role description
If you match, click "Submit"
Select which headshot to attach (choose the one that matches the character's energy)
Add a brief cover note if the submission allows it — one to two sentences max
Submit

💡 Pro Tip: Set up Saved Searches on the Casting Billboard with your filters pre-set. Check these daily — ideally first thing in the morning. Breakdowns move fast. A submission sent within the first few hours gets more attention than one sent 48 hours later when the casting director has already started making selects.

Submission Best Practices

Submit daily. Make it part of your morning routine. Coffee, Casting Networks, Actors Access. Every day.
Match your headshot to the role. Do not use the same photo for everything. Your commercial smile is wrong for a gritty drama.
Read the full breakdown. If it says "local hire only — Atlanta" and you are in Los Angeles, do not submit unless you are willing to fly yourself there.
Keep cover notes short. "Recent recurring on [Show Name]. Available immediately. Local hire." That is enough. Do not write your life story.
Do not submit for everything. Submit for roles where your headshot genuinely reads as the character. Scatter-shot submissions train casting directors to ignore your name.

Maintaining Your Profile

Your Casting Networks profile is a living document. It is not "set and forget."

Update headshots every 18-24 months or whenever your look changes
Add credits immediately after every booking wraps
Refresh your reel when you get better footage
Check your profile monthly to make sure links work and info is current

A stale profile with a broken reel link and 2023 headshots tells casting directors you are not active. An updated profile says you are working and invested in your career.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

"I signed up but I'm not getting any auditions." Are you on Premium? Are you submitting daily? Is your headshot professional quality? Are you submitting for roles that match your type? Fix those four things first.

"My agent is already on Casting Networks — do I still need my own Premium?" Yes. Your agent submits you for breakdowns they receive. Premium lets you self-submit for roles your agent might not see or might not consider you for. These are separate submission pools and you should be active in both.

"I'm in Australia/New Zealand — does this apply to me?" Yes. Casting Networks is the dominant platform in AU and NZ. The same steps apply. Set your market location accordingly.

Video Walkthroughs

These external resources provide visual walkthroughs if you prefer video:

Casting Networks Official: Getting Started with the Mobile App — official video tutorial from CN
Stage Milk: How to Nail Your Casting Networks Profile — detailed written guide with screenshots
David Genik: Create a Profile That Stands Out — profile optimization tips from a working actor

🎯 Industry Insight: Platform interfaces change frequently. If a button has moved or a menu looks different from what is described here, the steps are still the same — create account, upgrade to Premium, upload headshots, complete every profile field, submit daily. The strategy does not change even when the UI does.

Next Steps

Create your account and upgrade to Premium today. Do not wait. Every day without a complete Casting Networks profile is a day you are invisible for the majority of professional casting.
Complete your entire profile in one sitting. Block off 60-90 minutes. Do not do this halfway and come back to it "later." Later never comes. Headshots uploaded, credits entered, skills listed, reel linked — all in one session.
Submit for your first five roles this week. Open the Casting Billboard, filter to your type, and submit thoughtfully for five roles where your headshot genuinely reads as the character. This is now part of your daily routine.

Set Up Your Casting Networks Profile