Get a black-and-white 8-by-10 head shot taken by a professional photographer.
Create a resume that includes your full legal name, contact information, hair color, eye color, height, weight, age range (within eight years) and acting experience, if any. Education and acting training are encouraged but not necessary. List any special skills you have, such as martial arts training, sports skills, dance training, etc. Staple your resume, or directly print it, on the back of your head shot.
Relocate to a major city such as New York or Los Angeles where you can network with other actors and find more prominent acting opportunities.
Register with companies that cast extras for the film and television industry. If you are unsure where to find one in your local area, contact your local Film Commission office of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI) or Entertainment Bureau to find your area's production companies. By participating in movies as an extra, you will learn the "language" of movies and the nuances of acting professionally in a professional environment.
Have an extensive wardrobe for your work as an extra, including a tuxedo, business suits and casual clothes. Having clothes from different eras, cultures and occupations (doctor, lawyer, etc.) is also encouraged.
Contact local agents, shopping centers, businesses and street theater festivals to schedule a street performance. Prepare an act for performance on the street. Your act can be more akin to a comedy performance or a traditional theatrical experience with characters and story lines. If you don't have a street-ready act, seek work through an existing street theater company. Street performance can teach an actor important performance skills and enhance his resume.
Get a job at your local theater. Unless you have a rare talent noticeable upon first impression, you will need to work your way up from the bottom before you set foot on stage. Ask the theater for a job -- any job -- that gets your foot in the door, such as: follow spot operator, box office assistant, front of house assistant or dresser. Regardless of whether you perform, you will learn necessary stage skills from working and watching the plays the theater puts on.
Subscribe to a local arts newsletter. Keep an eye out for community theater opportunities. Once you find an audition, learn the play until you know it by heart and audition for the part. Be prepared to pitch in for the play, as many community theaters are run by volunteers and have very little funding.
Update your resume with your acting roles as an extra or in the legitimate theater and circulate it through talent agencies and casting directors.
Regularly read trade papers such as "Variety" and "Backstage." Learn what movies are holding casting auditions and where. Send your head shot/resume to the directors and producers requesting an audition.
Attend industry events and parties and network with other guests in the industry.