Many people swear that 2 minutes is the “industry norm” but there is no actual right answer here.
There is no world in which we’d be able to watch the entirety of someone’s reel when going through thousands of submissions. But most casting folks do skip forward and watch a few seconds of each clip. Because of this, it doesn’t really matter how long your reel is.
Have a 10 minute reel? Sure, maybe that’s a bit long. But don’t stress over having that “perfect” 2 minute reel. It doesn’t matter if it’s a 1, 2, 3, or 4 minute reel, as long as your material is showing us what you’re capable of as an actor.
Have a 3.5 minute reel and stressing over what to cut out? Don’t cut anything! Especially if it’s 3.5 minutes of your strongest work.
What matters MOST is the quality of the acting, not the perfect TRT.
Related reading: Does a Reel Need High Production Value?, Do Casting Directors Actually Watch Reels? and Do Non-Acting IMDb Credits Hurt Your Acting Career?.
Want help applying this to your own career? Book a one-on-one consultation with Ramani or see our packages.