Building an acting career without an agent is next to impossible. Everyone knows that, and most actors try to sign with an agent as quickly as they can.
Having an agent does many things for you. It provides you with someone to submit you for auditions, negotiate your contracts, and even provide some guidance on the direction of your career.
The agent you sign with can have a profound impact on your acting career. Over the years, I have seen first hand how many actors don’t take the process of finding and signing with a great agent as seriously as they approach other areas of their career.
Inevitably, that leads to many actors getting stuck in their career. See, signing with the wrong agent for you can be a huge weight on your acting career. It can lead to missing out on big opportunities at crucial points.
It can lead to pursuing the wrong opportunities, and spinning your wheels instead of making progress.
Most actors don’t give much thought to the agent they sign with. Very little planning goes into it, so many end up settling for whoever will accept them.
Professional actors know just how important it is to sign with a great agent and they start the process of finding one as soon as possible.
Here’s how you can start too, whether you are looking for your first agent, your next agent, or if you just want to make sure that you are already signed with the right agent...
If you are hoping to sign with a great agent you first have to familiarize yourself with what great agents look for in the talent they represent.
Once you understand what they look for, you can work on becoming their ideal client. Here’s what I mean...
Great agents like to work with actors that are actively working on building their career. They want to sign actors they can collaborate with.
However, many actors are fully content with simply waiting for the phone to ring whenever their agent has an audition lined up.
In fact, many agents are completely fine with that too, but great agents know that if both of you work together on generating opportunities and building your career, your efforts are likely to be more impactful.
Great agents look for actors that are hard working and dedicated to always giving their career their best. They like to sign actors with unique abilities, because it makes them more memorable to Casting Directors.
It is not uncommon for an actor's unique abilities to be written into a character that otherwise didn’t possess those abilities.
I have seen it happen time and time again. For example, vocal solos can be written into a scene if you are a talented vocalist, even if it is ultimately irrelevant to the story.
CDs and directors love to display unique abilities because it gives the project a way to differentiate itself with audiences, and great agents are always seeking actors that can bring those talents to a project.
Having those unique abilities can also make it easier to get in front of great agents. That doesn’t mean that they will just sign anyone who can do something unique.
It’s still important to have a great resume and reel for them to review. When you sign with a great agent, you will often have to redo your headshots, but you should still have headshots that represent you well when you start your search.
Presenting them with dated headshots is not a great way to start building a professional relationship.
Many actors mistakenly think that if they have those things in place, a great headshot and resume, a fantastic reel, and a unique ability to showcase, then agents will line up to sign them.
It’s true that some agents, looking to expand their roster, can be greatly swayed by those things, but to great agents the difference maker is the relationship.
By far, the greatest way to start building a relationship with them is to be introduced by another actor on their roster, one that is booking consistently, or an industry coworker.
That’s why networking and participating in industry events is a crucial part of finding and signing with a great agent. You are unlikely to encounter them directly, but you may encounter someone who knows them.
You can also reach out to them directly. Top tier agents don’t often publicize that they are looking for new talent, but they are almost always open to signing the right actors.
You can reach out to them directly, or getting in touch with them through social media can be effective too.
Don’t DM them with your reel and expect to be signed. Reaching out to agents on social media is all about opening the door to having a conversation at some point.
Instead of DMing them with your reel or your headshot, build your social media profiles into a place that reflects your talent, shows your dedication, and where agents can see that you are a true professional.
Then, when you reach out to an agent through social media do it without an expectation of anything in return.
All you want to do initially is open the door to a conversation. This can be done with something as simple as congratulating them on something one of their clients has accomplished.
When you do that, provided that your profile adequately reflects your talent and professionalism, you are much more likely to get a response or at least begin building familiarity.
Everyone knows that social media can lead to many opportunities as an actor, and this is a broad overview of how to approach it. Over the coming weeks we will be talking a lot more about how to use social media as an actor.
Regardless of how you are approaching agents, and whether you reach out to them or they contact you, your industry reputation is part of your first impression so make sure that it matches your goals. Here’s how I can help...
Finding and signing with the right agent is not always simple.
You may end up signing with an agent that seems like a good fit, only to find that things are not working out as well as you hoped.
That’s why research is an important part of the process for you and for them.
The agent you sign with can have a huge impact on your career, so take your time with making that decision.
If the industry doesn’t know you, they can’t hire you and if agents don’t know you, they can’t sign you.
Whether you are looking for your first agent or your next agent, the process is the same and it can be helpful to increase your visibility where Casting Directors and industry decision makers are looking for talent.
Over the next few days, think about your relationship with your current agent. Think about what has been working well and what areas could use some improvement.
Do you feel that you have been getting enough opportunities or is it maybe time to start thinking about searching for a new agent?
If you are unsure or if you just need someone to bounce ideas about that with leave a comment below or shoot me an email.
I am always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott