How To Get Meetings With Acting Agents

In order to meet with acting agents, you first have to reach out to them. 

Keep in mind, the average acting agent is incredibly busy and already has a massive roster of acting clients vying for their attention. 

Be prepared for a bit of rejection before you find an agent who is a good fit. 

Anticipate around one or two positive responses for every sixty people you contact. 

Really think about that… it means you should expect around fifty-eight to fifty-nine acting agents saying ‘no’ or not responding for every one or two acting agents that say yes.  

There's nothing wrong with this - you just have to keep trying. 

How To Reach Out

The first rule of mailing anything is to personalise it, which means including the recipient’s name in the greeting line and mentioning something specific pertaining to that recipient. How often do you respond to impersonal mass mailings? People do not respond to spam. If your message is not personal, acting agents and managers will not give it a second thought.  

Most LA office interns are told to throw away anything that doesn’t start with “We met at” or “I was referred by” and any postcard that isn’t hand written.  That doesn’t mean agents will give personalised marketing material a second thought, it simply means a personalised message is more likely to actually be seen by the intended recipient.

Follow up in two weeks with a phone call to every acting agent and acting manager you’ve mailed via hardcopy, and in one week to every agent and manager you’ve emailed. Be prepared to get a lot of rejections but remember, all you need is for one person to say yes.

An entire chapter in the Hollywood Survival Guide For Actors is dedicated to representation.  It discusses how to prepare for, find, select, contact, follow up with, meet, and sign with top representation in your area.