SECTION FIVE

CAREER TEAM

AGENTS

To download Sections 5 & 6 as a PDF file (shows the actual book format), click HERE .

• Spike Lee said it best on Inside the Actor’s Studio, “Agents are not going to get you work if you are not established.”

• Your job is to establish yourself, to make a mark, before you seek a theatrical agent. This book is written in sequence. First you study, you learn how to deliver a crafted, good performance, one you can deliver take after take. You have your pictures taken and develop a resume. You learn to audition by going to many auditions. You learn to work by working. You develop a demo reel, you prove that many directors have taken a chance on you, hired you and you have delivered. Maybe you’ve worked nonunion and made some money. Your next tool will be to become SAG eligible. You have developed your career tools; you are now ready to get your career team in place. An agent is usually your first team member.

• There are the four distinctly different areas of work requiring an agent. Theatrical, which includes work in film, TV and stage; commercials; voiceovers and print work. A few agencies handle all types of acting work; some handle just one area of the market. Many individual agents specialize in one field; some may handle actors across the board. An agency may have one or several agents working in each department.

• Agents are protected by California law; only they can solicit employment
and negotiate actor’s fees. Some are franchised by the unions—SAG, AFTRA and AEA. Keep checking sag.org and agentassociation.com for the most up-to-date information regarding signing agreements with agents. I must say as an actor, I belong to all three unions and, as misguided as I sometimes believe the union is, I still back them 100%.

PERSONAL TALENT MANAGERS

• The professional talent manager is responsible for all aspects of the client’s career. This includes artistic development, promotion of their career, working towards short and long term goals, maximizing their income and protecting them.

• The talent manager’s role is to advise, consult and guide your career all along the way. A good manager understands your needs and goals, and they use their skill to help you move toward your objectives. They sift offers, deciding which to pursue and which to turn down. They usually have the final say on the agent’s negotiation with the casting director or producer.

• A manager takes a percentage of the money you earn—usually 15 percent. Typically, the agent takes an additional 10 percent. Some actors fear these costs, particularly when the paydays get very big. Instead of looking at how much you must “give away,” think about this: When the paydays are big, that is when you can most comfortably afford to compensate your team. And consider how little of your income you must pay out to compensate your team. Plus they are working “on spec,” meaning you only have to pay them when there is income. There are very few companies in America that get to pay their executives in such a manner!

• Your manager works in every part of your life. Managers have fewer clients than agents do and their clients sometimes speak with them daily.

• A new actor would be very lucky to get the services of an experienced manager. Agents focus primarily on the immediate audition. A good manager, by definition, looks at the longer term career development of the actor. An actor with opportunities needs as much expertise as they can get to make wise decisions and take advantage of those opportunities. How many actors broke through with that one big job and then were never heard of again?

• When you hire a manager, hire one who you honestly believe can help you achieve your personal career goals. This means you must not only set short and long-term goals, but also educate yourself on who the respected managers are and how you can appeal to them. Value yourself. Don’t be lazy. If you are lazy there is not much hope for having a career no matter how much money you have to promote yourself. You need to work every day on the business side of your career as well as your acting craft. To do any less will minimize your chances of reaching the big career.

• When your career and business have been created in partnership with a manager, then you have been blessed with a business structure that works. I believe loyalty is a very important element in creating, developing and keeping your team. As your career expands you need that team more than ever.

• Poppy Montgomery moved to Hollywood from Sydney, Australia with no acting experience. She cold-called Julia Roberts’ then-manager Bob McGowan to see if he’d help make her a star. She sent him pictures all the time. She says, “I think he thought I was kind of funny.” Two months later, he signed her. Two years later, by the time she was 23, she was working steadily on ABC’s Relativity, movies The Other Sister, Life, This Space Between Us, Dead Man on Campus, Desert’s Edge, Devil in a Blue Dress. Her career continues to grow; she is now a series regular on Without A Trace.

• Steven Nash, head of Arts and Letters Management, came to management after years as an acting coach and a prominent producer/director in theatre and film. His clients have appeared in many major films, commercials and television series. He is President of the Talent Managers Association, produces feature films under the banner Arts and Letters Entertainment and has offices in Beijing, China.

Q: What is the difference between a manager and agent?

• In the major markets, like Los Angeles, the job of the manager is quite different from the agent. While everyone wants success for the actor, the agent’s main focus is to pursue the audition for the actor. The professional talent manager is concerned with all aspects of the actor’s growth, development and prosperity. The manager is like the C.E.O. of the company owned by the actor. It may be said that a manager does many of the services that used to be done by the studios for their contract players in the “golden age of Hollywood.” Today, most talent agencies will usually only look at more established talent. So it is typically the manager, if the talent can attract one, who is ready to work towards the long-term growth, who will invest their time, expertise and contacts in building a talent that is young in their development. Then when a talent is ready, the manager works with the actor to find the right agent to bring onto the team. Once the career is established, then the manager is essential to the care of the actor’s career.

Q: Why does an actor need a manager?

• As I said in Acting World’s Personal Manager Directory, to break through to the big career in today’s increasingly competitive market, an actor must have expert guidance at all steps of the journey. There are many people who call themselves managers, but I feel the professional talent manager is a breed apart. Managers who have true expertise and take a hands-on approach to developing and protecting careers is what to look for. If a “developmental” actor can enlist a quality manager early in their career, it would put them at a great advantage. Certainly for an established actor or star, the service and the responsibilities of the talent manager is far reaching.

Q: Tell us about the Talent Managers Association.

• It was formed in 1954 as the Conference of Personal Managers. We changed the name in 2000 to the Talent Managers Association (TMA) to reflect the 21st century evolution of Talent Management. Members pledge to pursue the highest standards of professionalism and ethics in all we do. A member may not sell any goods or services to a client for profit. We are paid by commission only when our clients work. We also produce networking and informational events for industry professionals, with special events for the actor.

• If you are a commercial type, it may be easier to get a commercial agent first. They sign many more people than a theatrical agent; some agencies have several hundred actors on their rosters. A good theatrical agent would handle 30 to 50 actors alone; if there are three agents then perhaps 150 clients for one agency. These are very general figures just to give you an idea how it works. One of SAG’s guidelines for agents is to accept only union actors—yet, if you have a great commercial look they will stretch the rules. If you are 22 or younger, it is easier for an agent to accept you as a nonunion actor.

• My advice is to read one of the several books on agents which you can buy at a theatrical book store. Then design a short, unique cover letter. See Cover Letters section. Enclose your wonderful 8x10 photo that looks just like you, and your resume. Mail it to specific agents within the agencies that use the type of actor that you are.

• When agents are interested, they will call you to come in and meet them. Go in dressed looking like your picture. Something in that picture attracted them. What you have to offer the agent is your good training, background and the experience you have been able to get for yourself. They want hard workers because when you are first starting out, they are not able to devote much time to you; they concentrate on the actors who are making money for them. Agents make 10% of what you earn. They do 10% and you do 90% of the work of obtaining employment.

• Back Stage West has interviews on a monthly basis, talking to agents. Cut these out, save them, learn more about the way the business is run. Agent Billy Miller of Michael Slessinger & Associates told this story:

• When Jenna Elfman (Dharma and Greg) was looking for an agent, her husband read an article in Drama-Logue about agent Michael Slessinger. He said, “Jenna, this sounds like the kind of agent you’d want to be with.” She asked her commercial agent to set up a meeting. There wasn’t a lot on her resume except a couple of student films and commercials. She had scenes from her student films on tape and they were great, so we decided to give it a try. And that’s how we started representing her.

• Anne Archer (Fatal Attraction, Patriot Games) advises, when you have landed your agent:

• Learn how to keep friendly, positive communication with your agent—always telling them the good news—something positive someone said, a great project you heard about, etc. Make them feel like you’re a team. Be helpful; take responsibility for creating a warm relationship with your agent.