Becoming a Film Extra: Build Your Profile Step by Step

A complete profile helps casting find you for the right roles. You build it on your phone, in the browser, and there is no app to install. This guide follows the setup in order, from the sign-up screen to a finished profile. Plan on a short sitting with your phone, a place with good light, and a few minutes of quiet.

What you need before you start

Charge your phone. Then find two recent photos of yourself: one headshot and one that shows your whole body or about three-quarters of it. If you do not have good ones yet, this guide to profile photos shows how to take them with your phone.

Have your sizes and a few details about your look ready, such as your height, hair color, and any tattoos or scars. Think about any skills you have, too, such as a sport, an instrument, or something unusual like juggling. Choose an email address you check every day, since that is how you will stay in touch with the site.

Sign up and your basic details

Open the MyCastingFile website in your phone browser and follow the sign-up steps. Joining is free. Use your real name, and answer each question honestly.

Take your time on this step. A typo in your name or email is easy to fix now and a nuisance to chase later. Read each answer once before you move on, because the rest of the setup builds on these details.

Check your city and ZIP code with extra care. Casting searches by city and ZIP code to find people near a set, so a wrong ZIP code can keep you out of a search you belong in. A correct location matters wherever you live.

Add your two free photos

A free profile includes two photos. Open the Photos section of your Profile and choose two photos that look like you today. Use one headshot and one full-body or three-quarter photo. Daylight and a plain background are best, and only you should be in the picture.

Do not edit your photos to look different. Skip heavy filters, AI-generated pictures, sunglasses, and hats. Casting compares your photos with the person who shows up on the day, so photos that look like you work in your favor. Casting mostly picks from photos, so these two do a lot of the talking.

If you want to swap a photo later, you can do it from the same Photos section, so there is no need to agonize over the first two. A plain, honest picture beats a fancy one.

Add sizes and details

Next, open the details part of your Profile and add what the form asks for. Productions ask for exact sizes because they plan wardrobe ahead of time, and height and sizes matter for stand-ins, photo doubles, and costume fittings. If you are unsure of a measurement, check it before you save.

Answer each question about your look as exactly as you can. Be precise about height, hair, and any tattoos or scars. An accurate answer helps casting choose you for a role you fit, and it saves you from replying to roles you do not.

Add your skills as well. When a role needs one, such as a handstand or riding a unicycle, your Profile is the only way casting can know you have it.

Check your profile as casting sees it

Read your profile from top to bottom, as a stranger would. Check that your photos match your answers, and look at your sizes and details one more time. If anything looks off, fix it now.

A free profile includes 2 photos. Pro is optional, costs $48 a year, and adds new-role emails as roles are posted, up to 10 photos (2 free plus 8 more) so you can show different looks, a video, a Pro badge, and your own Pro Page. Pro does not guarantee a booking, and you do not need it to apply or to be booked. Joining is free, applying is free, and getting booked is free. You never pay to apply for a role.

Once your profile is done, set your Calendar. Tap a day once to mark it available and twice to mark it unavailable, and it saves by itself. Then go to Open Calls and reply to one role that fits your look and your Calendar. Reply the same day the role comes out, since roles are often booked for the next day or two.

For more on describing your look, read how to describe your look honestly. For how casting reads profiles, read the guide to extras casting.