Choosing Great Acting Agencies to Approach

Having an agent or manager who is trusted by CD’s around town is a vital commodity for up and coming actors, as the reputation they have built for providing solid talent is what will get you into the audition room.   Your acting agent will be one of the most important parts of your Hollywood career, so it's important to know how to tell the great acting agencies from the lower level ones. 

Here are four simple steps to finding great acting agents who fit your needs:

1. Sign Up For IMDBpro

The first step to finding great acting agencies is to get on IMDBpro (they have a 14 day free trial if you don’t want to pay the fee).  All of the legitimate acting agencies in the world are listed here.  

2. Search IMDBpro For Your Favorite TV Shows and Movies

Take a look at the TV shows you love and the movies you adore.  The series regulars on TV and the lead actors in movies will all be with the top agencies that are pretty hard to approach. So, look at the actors who have been hired for just one or two episodes of your favorite show in the past twelve months.  Click on those actors, and see which acting agencies they are with. 

This implies the acting agency has current relationships with the casting directors of those top TV shows.

3. Check for Conflicts

Look through the cast list of each of the acting agencies and see if the agency represents many other actors of your type.  Your type means your age, energy, look, and essentially any actor you imagine would audition for the same types of roles as you.  If they have one or two actors like you, this isn’t an issue, but if they have four or five other actors that are just like you… The acting agency is probably not a good match for you. 

Note: If you’re under 16, this isn’t an issue as they often take many more actors of each type from each kids agency for auditions.

4. Create your “Acting Agency Target List”

Every time you find an agency that seems to be getting actors work right now, add them to an ‘acting agencies target list’ in an excel spreadsheet.  Put together a list of around sixty specific agents who work with acting agencies that seem to be getting actors work on TV series and movies you love.  

Now that you have your list, it's time to reach out to agents.  There is a full breakdown of how to create a great submission letter for Hollywood agents in the Hollywood Survival Guide text book.