It’s true, actor’s agents and managers only do 15% of your work, you need 75%. 

That means you as an actor need to put in the hard work and make your opportunities happen. You cannot expect agents or managers to land your jobs and opportunities and make you a success. The person who’s going to make you famous is you and the hard work you put into becoming a good actor. 

Actor’s Agents do 15% of the Work. That’s correct actor’s agents and or managers only do 15% of the work to help land you the work. You, the actor need to work 85% of the work. 

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That means you take the classes, you make connections with others in the industry, you develop your voice, physical and acting skills. You research and buy scripts, and learn new roles every single week. 

Becoming a very good actor takes work and then more work. Don’t expect to land a lead role in the school production and swan into plum roles because you did okay in one role in your history.

Just because you might have done well in one role doesn’t mean you’d be amazing in all roles. No, you still need to do the work to find the various skills needed to play different people. 

Be prepared for the amateur, the beginner and humble yourself. Go into classes and exercises with others with the attitude that you don’t know it all, but should have the hunger and want to best the best actor you can be. Your job is to learn, learn, and then learn some more. 

Great Classes To Help Your on Your Acting Journey

Classes, take classes such as:

• Script analysis
• Dialogue/voice
• Character development with and without scripts
• Improvisation
• Cold-reading scripts
• Self-tape technical skills
• Self-tape auditioning
• Commercial auditioning
• The business of show (roles/responsibilities of agents, CDs, film/tv structure, set terms & function)
• Actor resources (headshot, resumes, demo reels/clips, actor sites, social media, etc.)
• Type and What to Expect

Check out my recent blog post on How to Prepare yourself for Getting an Agent

The classes such as the ones here are a great start. But you need to save money to take as many classes as you can. Plenty of famous actors still take classes to hone their skills throughout their career.

Plenty of well known actors hire acting coaches to help with private auditions and scene study. If they are doing the work behind the scenes and they’ve already made a name for themselves, you need to do the work no matter what.

Check out my recent post on how to work with an actor’s mentor here.  

In truth Talent Agents work with actors who have proven that they want to be an excellent actor. Showing examples of the classes, schools and night schools you’ve attended the better. 

You’ll need a show reel with a variety of you acting in various scenes hopefully with good lighting and sound. Make it as professional as possible. Of course you can also take classes on filming the best studio scenes. A decent actor’s CV is also a must.

Talent Agents and Managers will submit your information to casting agents, they feel you would be best suited. Therefore you also need to know your type. Are you leading man or Lady or are you character.

Many beginning actors think they want the leading actor roles, however they are actually character actors and have yet to work this out. Therefore you need to listen to what others think your type is and make that your strength. 

What Does an Acting Agent Actually Do?

A talent agent, sometimes known as a booking agent, is the person who schedules actors, musicians, authors, directors, etc. for projects in the entertainment industry. A talent agent serves as the primary career steward for a client, assisting with networking, career development, branding, and public relations.

Acting agents send their clients for auditions, pitch them for jobs, follow up on submissions and auditions, bargain for higher compensation and contracts, and revise terms of current contracts. But each one approaches these things differently. Some are unquestionably hands-on, while others are farther away. Some have a very narrow clientele and are quite discriminating; others have a much wider clientele. 

Actors who have some training and experience could try for mid-range talent agents and learn the business from there. 

It’s important not to sign up with extra agencies. They tend to take anyone who is willing to play for their classes and go on with their books. If you go for a job as an extra, you run the risk of always being thought of as an extra and will be pigeon holed. It’s probably fine if you’re an extra for your friend’s film, but avoid extra agencies as much as possible. 

Only accept or approach those who are willing to pitch you as an actor in the business. 

What do you Need to Provide To Approach a Talent Agent

• Do you already have headshots, a social media presence, a website, or a showreel? If you have these things an agent is more likely to want to represent you. 
• Do you have a can do attitude, that means you are professional, well mannered, use your initiative and are well prepared for auditions and jobs. 
• Are you willing to do most of the work to get yourself jobs, pay your retainer to your agent, get training and take classes. 

If your town or location is too small for talent agents, it’s best that you promote yourself. You ring around party companies if you want to be an entertainer, wedding arrangers, event organizers, or you can be a self entertainer by adopting a character to play at a party or event. 

The more experience and willingness to show you’re a self starter the better. Remember the best thing to do is show that you are willing to do what it takes to be a good actor and always do your best. 

Why Talent Agents Drop You

Talent agents may drop you from their books after a time of inaction or when they pitch your work, no casting director wishes to book you for auditions. If this continues, and you aren’t active enough in getting training or work for yourself, you could be dropped. 

Try not to take this to heart, because that is the business. It could be a wakeup call, that says you might do better taking a different path in your career, pick up more classes and audition for more plays and volunteer for students films. 

The 12 main reasons talent agent Anna Lewkowska cites for agents dropping their clients include money, lack of progress, the marketplace, unprofessionalism, work ethic, schedule, unrealistic expectations, being a time waster, having bad energy, being shady with money, ignoring advice, and changes in appearance.

There are plenty of high profile actors who’ve been dropped by their agents such as actors Shia LaBeouf and Armie Hammer, a former mixed martial artist Stars from The Mandalorian Gina Carano, country music performer Morgan Wallen, and shock rocker Marilyn Manson have all cut ties with some of the most influential talent agencies in Hollywood.

Remember you are the one who needs to work the hardest for your roles. They can take you someway, the but the rest is up to you. 

If you are feeling rejected and bummed out, remember there are always avenues to pick yourself up by your bootstraps. Read positive books about developing your self esteem, hang our with positive friends, be grateful for what you do have and the opportunities you’ve been given before. Try, try and try again. 

At the end of the day, Talent agents need to make money! If they aren’t making money off you, they are likely to drop you. Some will make excuses, like ‘there just aren’t enough roles for your type.’ But really if you are a product they can use they will drop you for someone they think will.

How can you make yourself into a viable product where you win by gaining acting jobs and they win from booking auditions, jobs and getting their 15% commission.

If you want to be a well known actor, you need to make the connections, do the work and help book your own jobs and put out a great attitude. Good luck.