How to Become an Agent for Actors

Becoming a talent agent is a great way to work in the entertainment industry. Not only will you get to meet and represent some of the most exciting stars in the world, but you’ll also be able to make a decent salary. It’s not just about the money, though; being an agent can be very rewarding when you’re helping someone realize their dreams. If you have what it takes to be an agent, here’s how to get started.

First things first: You need some experience in the business. You don’t have to have been working as an agent for years before applying for jobs with agents or talent agencies, but it would certainly help if you had some background knowledge about what goes on behind the scenes at these places. If you’re interested in becoming an agent, here are some ways that may help:

1) Work as an assistant for an established agent or manager

2) Become a casting director or producer

3) Take classes at local colleges about acting or other related topics

4) Volunteer at theatres around town

How To Become An Agent For Actors

Step 1: Understand the job profile of an actor’s agent

In order to continuously source good roles for your acting clients, you need to understand the hard work involved in your job profile, which can also be fun and lucrative for you besides coming with other job perks.
Some of these include getting to view pre-releases of movies, opportunity to network with global media professionals, invites to media functions, dinners and promotion events where you can build your people skills and land more roles for your clients, based on your social etiquette and negotiation skills.

Step 2: Acquire basic college education, overview of filmmaking and PR skills

Apart from talent spotting and knowing a few studio heads, acquire a basic college education to help secure a day job that will support you while you build relations in the media world. Also take additional courses in PR, celebrity management, psychology etc. that will help you handle various aspects of your client’s acting career.
So, choose from a Liberal Arts degree to creative undergraduate course at an accredited film school where you can learn basics of movie making. You can also opt for a degree in communications that will help build on written and verbal integrated media skills.
Accountancy or Math courses also help talent agents to negotiate and manage the client’s acting income, additional publicity related endorsements that boost financial returns for a role besides basic psychology knowledge that helps the agent deal with their client’s emotions.

Step 3: Get some in house experience by Interning at a top film studio

Try to attend college or get an intern job with a leading film studio in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco or New York. Here you can network, acquire basic experience during your summer job, complete your college degree with a valid internship record and possibly even bag a referral letter.
Working every summer during your 3 year degree course or even a few months at the end of the undergrad program, then getting the all-important reference letter from the studio head will help you build a strong resume and get a foot into an established talent agency’s door.

Step 4: Work as a Personal Assistant in an established talent agency to gain more experience

Work as a Personal Assistant to executives with a known talent agency to pick up additional skills for becoming an agent for actors. Here you will have access to the agency’s method of operating, handling of client contracts as well as professionals, besides learning the art of savvy negotiations to constantly bag new clients.

Step 5: Working independently for promoting new actors as a film agent

The job market is competitive for film agents so you may need to hold on to your talent agency job till the time you can launch out on your own.
Use your PA period at the agency for networking and interacting with the firm’s clients. Put in extra hours, bag that agent position in the agency and save enough money to invest in a basic office set up to work independently for promoting new actors or those you can wean away from the agency, once you have proven negotiation skills and strong movie industry connections.