You’ll find that many agents and managers, and really producers, too, don’t like to be confronted.  So early on in your career, take it easy, but still try to get the answers to these questions, or something along these lines.

1.  What age range do you see me being right for?

Before you approach actors agents for your film and television career, you should already have a good sense of what you think your age range is by about a 5 year span, or 10 years if you’re over 38.  In fact, you should know this before you take your headshots so you can get pictures that are well-suited to this.  You and your mom and dad may not be the best judges of what your age range is, so if possible find an industry professional to discuss it with or work with a career coach on it to see how to best position you. 

As a film and TV actor, remember your age range will be more limited than it is in the theatre.  And in fact, the agent may ask you, so be sure that you have a good sense of it before you go in.  This will make you look more professional to the agents and management that you may be interviewing or auditioning for.

 2.   What kind of roles will you submit me for?

As with the above question, make sure you know what your casting is and that your headshots reflect the kinds of roles you would be right for.  Then in the meeting where you are vying for the attention of that particular agent at the agency, you can ask them what they think.  If you guys aren’t in synch, then you need to speak to the talent agent about that and see if you can come to an agreement, or you may be sent on auditions and casting calls that you feel completely out of place on.

It’s great to get as many auditions for acting as you can, but if you feel you’re not even the right type, it will be depressing and you’ll end up being upset that you wasted your time.  Ward this off by discussing the kinds of auditions with the actors agent when you first meet with them.

3.  How do you like me to keep in touch with you?

You will find that many of the agents for your acting career, at least early on, don’t want to hear from you very often.  Unfortunately, much of the time, actors bug their agents and don’t have much to say when they do call and that is what annoys the talent agents and makes them not want to hear from the actors they represent.  It’s not personal, but too many actors waste their time trying to chit-chat and that is no good.

When you get a meeting with an agent at one of the agencies, be sure to ask how they want you to keep in touch with them.  Whatever you do, don’t call before 2:00 pm because they are submitting you for the auditions and casting calls that you want to get.  If you call during the heat of that, they will think you are clueless. 

In your meeting, ask how to keep in touch.  Then, if they say, don’t call me, I’ll call you, if you are new to acting, then don’t worry about it and don’t call them very often.  But as you get more experienced, then you can get creative and come up with good reasons to call your talent agent.  If you have a lot of experience and your talent agents says that, then dump them before they even try to sign you.  Early on, just be glad you’re getting something.  If you’re a working actor, then don’t waste your time with a crappy talent agent who won’t get you any good auditions anyway.  Consider finding acting management or another good theatrical agent – but don’t settle – or just stay with your agent or manager you’re with for the time being.

 4.  How do you feel about me promoting myself with your agency name on my submissions?

You would think that any agent at any agency would be happy that their acting talent is trying to do something for their careers, but funny enough, it’s not always that way.  Agents for acting and acting management can be odd – sometimes they are controlling and don’t want you to put their name on things they don’t authorize.  And sometimes, if you’re new, they may be trying to control their “brand,” and wanting to make sure they are seen in the right way that they want to be seen.

Just as an actor has a “brand,” so does an agency as do personal managers.  Bottomline, be sure you ask them how they feel about it.

5.  As agents helping actors in their acting careers, what do you typically do to help get auditions for a client that you believe in?

This one might be a bit confronting for an agent, so be careful when you ask it.  The main thing that you are trying to find out is if they only submit your picture to the casting directors for auditions or if they pick up the phone and call to pitch you.  Most of the time, the smaller agency will submit their acting talent, but not make the calls.  As a starting out actor, that is okay.  But if you have Co-Star and higher credits and you want to be film talent, you will need a talent agent who will pick up the phone and pitch you to Hollywood like you deserve to be pitched.

To be sure that the agents you consider for your acting career are going to be right for you, then make sure that that agent and their agency can give you the answer to these questions – or at least four out of the five and any others that are important to you.

If you feel you are not prepared and would like to have a session to get ready for an agent’s meeting, check out the Agent Meeting Role Play that I can work with you on. 

Meanwhile, get ready to go for it!

If you’re in Hollywood, you can try to get a referral from someone who good agents respect and like, such as a director or casting director.  Sometimes agents will consider a recommendation from a good acting coach.  But for most actors, you probably won’t have a referral that will matter to the agents.  So then what do you do? 

How to get an agent when you have no connections is really not that hard.  You first must get a very good, professional headshot that looks like you.  Then you have to get 8 x 10″ duplicates, of course.  Then you have to put together an acting resume, which has a very specfic three-column format for newbies and somewhat working actors and a two-column format for working actors and on up. 

Your acting resume should include notes about any credits you have, training, and special skills, such as athletics, dialects, accents, and languages.

After you get your actors headshot and resume, then you need to write an introductory cover letter that introduces you in the best way to the agents.  You need to focus on what would be most of interest to the agents about YOU.  For the most part, they don’t care about what you “think,” so to speak, but what are the “facts” of your qualifications.  This is where it helps to have some “sales” skills for your letter to the agents also. 

When you present that facts about your acting background, you can put a “spin” on things to make them sound the best they can.  If all you’ve done is a bunch of student films, then instead of saying, “I haven’t done any professional acting yet,” instead you could say, “I’ve played Lead Roles in five independent short films.”  The truth is they are independent and they are short.  If you’ve more comfortable with calling them student films, that’s fine too:  “I’ve played Lead Roles in Five Student Films,” sounds better than “I haven’t really done anything….”

After you write a cover letter about your acting career to the agents, then you have to pick out who would be best to send to.  There used to be an excellent monthly publication called “The Agencies,” published by Michael Lloyd and Lawrence Parke of Acting World Books, but unfortunately, both gentlemen have passed away and the monthly book is now out of publication.  However, you can still get a list from SAG as a starting point.  Smart Girls Productions also keeps track of all The Agencies and even rates them A, B, C, D by their level of clout. 

So you write your letter, then you pick out the best agencies to send to.  Then you send out the Cover Letter Mailing with your headshot and resume.  From that point, the Hollywood Talent Agents who are interested will call you directly.

What if you live out of town?  If you’re in the local Southern California area, then just do it the same way, but consider using the mailing address of a friend in the Los Angeles or Hollywood area so the Agents don’t immediately worry that you won’t be quickly available for auditions.

If you are not in the area at all where it is not feasible to go to on auditions or casting calls the same day, then you can do it two ways.  One is that you can tell them up front that you are not local but that you will be moving there or that you are scheduling visits for the second week of  xxx, say the second week in “February.”  Then you take it from that point and try to get your agent meetings from there.  You wouldn’t even have to have your flight booked yet if you want to put some feelers out.  But you would still say that you are taking meetings then to encourage the agents to call you for a meeting.

The other option is to not tell the talent agents in your cover letter that you are out of town, but make it appear that you are already in town.  You might have some finagling to do if they want to meet you in a couple of days and you’re down in Texas, but you could make it work.  You can either go on and book a flight.  Or you could tell them that you are out of town this week but will be back next week.

There are various strategies that you can take in your cover letter when you are trying to find an agent, but the most important thing is to go for it.  You will learn many things along the way.  And the sooner you get started, the better.

If you would like assistance with helping you get an agent, consider getting a professional cover letter mailing to agents.

And that is how to get an Agent For Acting!

When I saw this, it got me thinking about my actor and screenwriter clients who want to be paid for their services – presumably all of them! 

So I have a question for you:  How much would someone pay for your acting or screenwriting talents?  Or anything else you do for that matter? 

For the most part, the most difficult part of an acting or screenwriting career is getting paid for doing it.  It’s easy enough to act in a play, a student film, or a no-budget film, but to be HIRED to do it is a different story. 

Same with writing.  You can get a video camera and shoot a few no-budget scenes, edit them with free software, and then post them on YouTube for the world to see.  Doing the thing itself is not so hard.  It’s getting paid to do it that is the hard part. 

So the question is, what is it that makes someone PAY for what you do?  And a lot of money at that?

Here’s the answer:  The reason they pay you (your audience, that is) is that they perceive a particular and unique value in what you do.  Someone pays for a Madonna record because they perceive what she delivers as being unique AND they like it. 

Someone pays to have you act in their film because they perceive that you will deliver something unique that’s worthy of paying for.  They also think that, in turn, others will also perceive it as being unique and worth paying for.

Said another way:  You have to be unique in some way, or more accurately, perceived to be delivering something unique that is valuable enough that the buyer will pay for it.

Let me break it down.  First, for actors:  Most actors fall in the category of what’s called a “commodity.”  A commodity is something that can be easily replaced with another similar item.

For screenwriters, it’s the same thing.  Most scripts that I’ve critiqued are actually okay, not bad.  But most of them could be classified as commodities, meaning easily replaced with a similar one. 

The problem with being a commodity when it comes to marketing is that you have little leverage in getting someone to pay money for what you are selling over another commodity, unless you are a name brand (meaning a star name actor or proven screenwriter).  Think of computers:  they are now commodity products.  The main difference is the name brand.  Most people prefer to buy a name brand over a no-name brand, even when they could get more for their money with a no-namer.  

There is more perceived value in the name brand commodity than the actual product itself, therefore most people stick with the name brands.  And on top of that, even the name brand companies are very competitive with each other, trying to separate themselves from the others in a sea of commodities.

As an actor or screenwriter, you are a commodity until you have a name.  It’s the chicken-egg story.  How to you get to have a name if they won’t hire you so you can build your name? Well, you have to do one thing.

 I’ll put it very simply: 

If you want to be paid to do your acting or screenwriting, you have to go to work on increasing your perceived value in the Hollywood market place.

It’s not about your real value or your worth as a person.  It’s not about how much money your movie would make if we could see into the future and really know.  It’s about how much the Hollywood marketplace perceives that you or your script is worth.  So you have to work on increasing the perceived value of what you provide.

How do you do that?  It’s not just one thing, there are lots of things that you can do.  Everything from being great at your craft, to being unique, to getting fans of your work, to being great to work with, and much more.  It includes all the steps in the process of branding yourself and making a career — and it’s not as elusive as you might think.  (Stay tuned for more insights on how to do this or check out Smart Girls Productions services for marketing actors and screenwriters as a starting point.)

To bring the point home, let’s go back to the $600,000 Mastiff… was that dog really worth that much money?  Who knows?  How do you even tell?  It’s a made up number.  The bottomline is that the buyer thought that he was worth it and she paid it. 

What is the perceived value of your talent in the market place?  How will you increase it?

If you are pursuing an acting career, you will very likely, eventually, find yourself wondering what you should do next to try to break through because it seems so hard.

One of the possible actions you can take, a possibility which arose only a couple decades ago and was conceived of by a company called One-On-One Productions, is to pay to audition for casting directors.

Anyway, what they did, which many other companies have since done, is to create paid workshops that actors can attend, a “class” type thing, where a casting director teaches you how to audition.  So you get to meet with them in this “class,” and you learn their little quirks about what they like and don’t like.  That way, if you should ever get called in to officially audition for them, you know what to do. 

The fact is that these “workshops” are basically paid auditions, and some people object to this whole idea.  It goes against the grain of everyone who’s ever held an office in SAG and every died-in-the-wool artiste actor.   But I, on the other hand, coming from a perspective of success and a marketing background, believe that if that will help you begin a relationship with a casting director which could later get you cast in your dream role, you might as well fork over the $45 or $50 bucks they’re asking for.

I’ve worked with literally thousands of actors who would love to be able to audition for certain TV shows.  And if they could get in the game, then they would feel an inner sense of peace knowing that they at least have a shot!  Many are upset because they don’t even get that chance.

One of my clients who started doing these paid “workshops” way back when put it very well when he said, “Hey, whether I like it or not, if that’s how the game is played, then that’s how I’ll play it.  If it helps me get seen by the casting directors, bring it on.”  He met dozens of casting directors at these workshops, followed up by keeping in touch with them through postcards, and went on to be a consistently working actor.

The bottom line is that in most competitive businesses, it is common to wine-and-dine and to try to buy someone’s business, so to speak.  When someone else has the upper hand and you want to do business with them, you need to put out a little bit more.  You need to somehow get the attention of that person so that they look your way. 

If that means that you shell out a little bit for a one-night stand – a paid casting director workshop – then so be it.  That is not too bad considering that you are then known to that person and can be considered for being cast on that show.

 When you compare the $50 bucks or so that that you spend for that against the fact that acting classes in L.A. run an average of $200 minimum to $300 bucks a month, I would definitely recommend that periodically skipping class to meet four casting directors or even their assistants might be a good idea

So are Casting Director Workshops good or no good?  I say go for it.  In marketing, you MUST get yourself known, even if it is to be known by the second banana at the office.  That’s better than never having any chance at all.  But then, I’m all about the marketing and having you work as an actor, not just practice your craft. 

If you want to work, you definitely need to be trained, but just make sure that you also start getting yourself out to the market.  Don’t get super comfortable in your acting class where it feels so good and safe.  Get yourself out there.

Once you meet these casting directors, make sure that you keep in touch with them on a regular basis by getting your photo postcard in front of them so they remember you when they have a role you’re right for.

Meanwhile, happy trails in your marketing.

Believe it or not, after reviewing and redoing thousands of acting resumes, I can tell you that there’s a 90% chance that your resume is not selling you as well as it could.  Even experienced actors who have worked in TV for years are playing down their credits and not making them look as good as they could.  I know dozens of ways to improve the way your credits and training are listed on your resume, and if you’re working, you need it to sell you in the best way possible.

Given that this is a blog post, I’m just going to cover one topic here, and that has to do with the billing, or the way the role is listed on your resume.  And I’ll cover tips for whether you have just a few credits or you’re someone who is very experienced.

The term “billing”  refers to how the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) credits you when you play a given role in a SAG film or TV project.  For TV, the main billing types are Series Regular, Guest Star, and Co-Star.  You also can get what’s called an Under-5.  There are also other billings like “Special Guest Star” and so on.

When it comes to your resume, you should use whatever your actual credit was per SAG, if you even know. Sometimes actors don’t really know what their billing was, they just know they had two lines on CSI or something to that effect. So for one, if it’s a SAG job, you need to find out what your billing was.  After you’ve worked for a while, you’ll start to understand why billing is so important.

On the other hand, you may not always know what your billing was, and if it were not a SAG job, then you may not even have any official billing, so you have to come up with something.  Whatever you do, you should make it sound as good as you can as long as you are still comfortable with it.  You don’t want to lie about something and then go into a meeting all pent-up and worried that someone might call you on your lie.  So just make it sound only as good as you are comfortable with.  Think of it like politics and “spinning” the truth.  You bring the focus to the good part not the bad part.

For example, say you have a line or two, and you want to make it sound as good as possible.  SAG likes you to use “Under-5,” meaning under 5 lines.  But instead, you could use something like “Guest Role.”  It just sounds better.

One of the tips that actors who have been working in television roles for quite a while miss out on is when they play a Recurring Role (not “Reoccuring,” by the way) on a TV series.  For example, let’s say you work 2 days one week, none the next, one the next, and so on, the idea being that you are Recurring but you don’t know exactly when.  You can jazz that credit up by putting (1 year) or (2 Years) beside the name of the credit.  This shows that you were on it for a while, not just for 2 appearances.  When you put Recurring with no note of years, you miss out on showing your experience if you worked on it for 6 months or a year.

If you are someone who is newer and doing extra work, you may wonder how to note that. It’s fine to put a few extra jobs on your resume while building your “real” credits.  In that case, if you were one of the extras clearly seen in the movie or TV show, then you might put “Featured” for your role if you don’t want to list it as extra work.

As to whether you should put extra work on it, if you haven’t done much other work, then go on and pick out a few of your extra jobs that you were singled out for and list it as Featured.  But don’t try to make it look like you were a Guest Star or something big.  Just put “Featured” and nothing bigger.  If an agent you’re meeting with gets mad that you put extra work on your resume and listed it as Featured, just tell them that you heard “somewhere” that that was how you were supposed to list it but that you are happy to take it off if they want you to.

This way, it gets you in the door, but you play just a tiny bit naïve about it to get away with it. When you get to a point where you have four or five speaking credits in the Television category, remove all of your extra work entirely.   Until then, be ready to tell a good story about each of your credits when they ask.

So that’s a quick tip for jazzing up your TV credits.  Film credits is a whole other story.

Keep in mind that if you have done a few plays, independent films, short films, student films, hosting, and so on that there are probably quite a few tweaks that will help your resume show you in the best light possible. 

If you think you might need a Resume Make-Over, go to Smart Girls Productions and they’ll redo it for you for a reasonable price.  They also do “Day Job” resumes and Day Job Cover Letters should you be in the market for a new “day” job.  Also, check back here for an upcoming ebook that will reveal to you dozens of hot tips like this one to make your resume show you off the best way possible, as well as have lots of sample resumes.

Looking at what that “valuable something” is that the star provides, Mark Harris of Entertainment Weekly wrote: “A movie star is someone whose past work enriches your experience of, and deepens your pleasure in, his or her present work.”  And as mystery blogger Stogie Joe noted, we watch as they grow up.

Identifying and relating to these stars as we do documents our own history in a way — even more readily seen with musicians.  I was a Donny Osmond fan as a child.  When I see him now, I remember what I myself was doing on my 13th birthday.  We do the same with the movies and movie stars.

I believe that Movie Stars should get every penny that they possibly can.  When actors or writers complain about their salary, I just shake my head, because if the star doesn’t get the money — the STUDIO will, not the other actors and writers who also “deserve” more money, too.

I love that we have Movie Stars.  They also represent the possibility of transcendence.  Something bigger than our mundane experience of life.  They represent magic.  While they are still individual human beings, for the rest of us, they seem to be a conduit to the magic that we wish for in our lives.  Something bigger than life.

I completely agree with Stogie Joe that stars are going nowhere — we needs our Stars more than ever.  It’s just a question of which direction the money heads. 

Almost everybody knows we need them, meaning the studio people and producers.  It’s just a matter of making sure that the team of people on the star side of the deal never buy the propaganda that the studios put out about them being overpaid.

 Long live movie stardom and may they continue to get their $25M a movie.

But thinking like this may give you a little bit of trouble.  Like with anything in life, when you resist “what is so,” it gets harder and harder to deal with.  I know that for many artists and other people who have their own business or personal service and don’t have someone else to market them, they just feel like they are no good at marketing.  And frequently, they then make a half-hearted attempt at it or they don’t do it at all.  Then business goes down, or you don’t get many auditions, and you’re left frustrated. 

To be powerful in your career, you need to shift your relationship to marketing and how you think about it.  Start by giving up resisting it and simply owning that it is a critical element of your career.  Just like staying in shape, looking well, being healthy, being friendly to your fans, and taking care of yourself overall is a critical element in your acting career, so is marketing.  Some people don’t like to work out, but if you want to stay in shape, you’ll have to do some kind of exercise.

With exercising, you can’t get someone else to do it for you — although you can get a trainer and coach.  But with marketing, fortunately you  can get someone to do a lot of it for you.  My company Smart Girls Productions has been marketing actors to Hollywood since 1992.  We’ve helped literally thousands of actors get agents and managers and also get auditions for top TV show and movies.  We work with you one on one and help you pick out headshots and write your cover letters and so forth.  And there are other companies who offer some version of coaching in helping you package yourself for the market.

But the bottomline, as I always like to get to, is this.  No matter what you want to have someone else support you in, you have to take that first step.  You are always the person responsible for making it happen.  If you don’t, I promise you no one else will.  You have to market yourself over and over and over.  You don’t have to do all the steps, but you have to take the first step to find someone esle to do it.  Then you still have to be involved.  Even when you get a talent agent or manager to represent you for the film and TV roles you want, ultimately, you will still need to keep promoting yourself.

What I’m really suggesting is that if you can change your attitude to embracing the fact that you need to market yourself, you may find that you get more creative about it.  The sooner you embrace that ongoing promotion of your career is as much a part of your acting career as auditioning, then you will leap forward in your career much more quickly.

Here’s to your success!

Then Join The More Than 7500 Actors And Writers
We’ve Helped With Marketing Their Careers Since 1992

Maybe you’re seeking a good Hollywood agent or manager. Or maybe you just want Hollywood producers and agents to read your script so they can see its amazing potential. If you’re looking for ways to move your career forward in Hollywood, then you’ve come to the right place. We offer the broadest range of marketing services available ANYWHERE for both for actors and screenwriters. We track thousands of agents, managers, producers, and casting directors in Hollywood, and we have a variety of programs to help you in your career.

Give yourself the chance to see your name in lights for real. It starts right here.

P.S. You know, a lot of actors and writers will read every word here, agree with what they see – and still do nothing. They’re the wanna-bes-who-didn’t-go-for-it. The almost-made-it crowd. Always waiting for that good ship success to sail in, but too timid to hop on board once it is at the dock! We can and do give you every tool you need to go after your desires and ambitions. But you have to take this first step in your acting or writing career. Give us a call to see how we can help you — or AT LEAST, start by getting our mini-course on marketing to Hollywood!

P.P.S. A lot of people wonder… is Smart Girls just for women? The answer? No. It doesn’t matter who you are, whether you’re a man or a woman! If you’re looking to make it in film or TV, we’re for you. Smart Girls (and Guys) are who we are, savvy, smart people who get the job done – and done right!

To Be Continued…