Acting is hyper competitive

5 seconds… That’s all you have to make an impression on an agent and convince them to spend a few minutes thinking about you. If you’re successful you might land an audition and an agent that can open the doors to a career in film, television, theater and commercials. However, the odds are long. The chances are high that your submission will join the hundreds that I and every other legitimate agent passes on each month. (Yeah, I know. It’s a bummer.)

I’ve written this post to walk you through the steps that you need to put yourself in the best position to try and secure representation by a legitimate agent. (And by legitimate I mean one that has the connections and reputation to get you real work.) It doesn’t mean that you’ll get an agent, but ignoring this advice will guarantee that you won’t.

Reasons an Agent might pass, even if you’re great.

If you’ve auditioned or preformed a scene for me and I’ve sent you an email that I’m unable to represent you, there are some things to keep in mind.

First, I pass on 99% of actors who contact me looking for representation. In many cases it’s because of something that’s entirely external to you and your talent.

Here’s a list of pretty common reasons that I have to turn down even great actors:

You’re not in the right age range for your experience level. I’m a youth and young adult agent. If you 56 you’re not a fit.
I’m already representing you. Casting breakdowns are very specific. If you would generally fit into a category where I already have clients that I represent, I may pass simply because I can’t really take on more actors that fit that “type”. You may be fantastic but my first loyalty is always to my existing clients and if I don’t think I can get you work, it doesn’t make sense to bring you on.
You don’t have the support that I think you’re going to need. Acting is tough. As a young adult or child, you need a lot of support from everyone around you. I have to believe that you have that support.
You haven’t put in the work yet. It’s important that you understand just how competitive this industry is. You’re competing with talented actors who are entirely focused on their craft and becoming better every day.

That’s just a partial list of course but I hope it provides some context about why I may have passed.

Nicole.