One Asshole's Opinion

   It has taken me a long while to sit down and write this blog.  After George Floyds murder a long overdue wave took over our country.  We were all forced to take a look at ourselves and our institutions.  At first I was a bit frustrated.  See, I had read all the books and knew most of the history.  I read James Baldwin, Angela Davis, James McBride, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes and many others.  My closest friends were black.  I have nephews and nieces, both Black and Latinix.  But I am a middle aged white man, so I am the villain.  Why me?  Then I started doing a bit of soul searching.  I am the villain.  I started examining what I had failed to do on my journey.  How had I perpetrated the alienation so many of the people I know were feeling.  We all had to look inward and examine our actions or better yet, our lack of action.  Did I fall in line and follow the herd?   I represent people for a living.  How can I represent actors of color in the way they are meant to be represe

      Oh how I wish I had the answers.  The questions come at a fast a furious pace. Everyone I know is getting them and everyone I know is asking them. "When will the work come back?"  "What will the set look like?"  "How do i get my carrier going during Covid?"  All are viable and important questions and if anyone tells you they have the answers, they are lying.     I was one of the early believers that we would be back to work sooner rather than later.  I thought the government would figure out that the economic consequences were going to be devastating and putting people back to work would become  imperative.  I was quickly proved wrong.  Now we sit and we wait.  Enough work trickles in to keep our appetite whetted, and our reduced staff ends up doing a whole lot more work on fewer jobs because of the new normal.  Each small job requires an endless number of emails.  Reminder emails to clients to get their self tapes done.  Answer a ton of questions on

  My agency is rare in the fact that we have, in our Los Angeles office, a stand alone Equity division.  There are less then ten of us in LA with this kind of commitment to theater.  All of our bigger competitors will do theater if it's a big show like Hamilton or one of the large legit theaters in town like the Taper or the Geffen.  Unlike those ten percenteries, we have five people on the ground in Los Angeles servicing an elite group of the best stage actors in Los Angeles.  We are working on Broadway, national tours, regional theater and, of course, local theater here in Los Angeles. There is a big lie out there that you can't make your living as a theater actor and live in Los Angeles at the same time.  I am here to tell you that that is just not true.  The actors in our Equity division made over a million and and a half dollars last year and they are on record to make two million this year.  We are constantly preaching to the young actors coming out of conservatory prog

Episodic season is upon us and it is really the best chance you have as a work a day actor to getting in the room and advancing your career.  Unlike the myth of pilot season, which I addressed in a previous post, episodic season is ripe with opportunities.  Here casting is more willing to take chances.  The stakes aren't quiet as high.  They have time to pre-read you or look at your reel.  Casting isn't looking for someone who can carry a series on their shoulders, but someone who can service the story.  Don;t get me wrong, you will still be competing against actors with tons of credits, but at least you can get in the room.  You should especially concentrate on long running shows.  Shows that have been on for many seasons have used up the pool of multi credited actors.  They want to bring their producers new faces.  After multiple seasons show runners get bored by the same actors.  Fresh new faces, who can act, are a gift to casting. There are so many outlets now and so many

How important is your social media in the new landscape of show business?  Your social media numbers can be the difference in the hiring process, but so many actors get is so wrong.  Back in the days when I had to walk to school 10 miles uphill in the snow, both ways, we had a thing called a Q rating.  Every actor of any recognizability had a Q rating.  This was derived by giving a stranger , in a mall, a big notebook full of pictures and seeing who they recognized.  The most recognizable had the highest Q rating.  Highly scientific. Now one of the first questions we get is, "What are their social media numbers?"  The real question they should be asking is,"How engaged is their following?"  This is really what you should be working on.  Build the number, but get your followers engaged.  I have 15,000 followers on Twitter (@commeagent) and only a tenth of them are really engaged, maybe not even that many. Really look at your social channels and make sure they are

We had an actor call our office today about an audition they heard about and had not gotten an appointment for.  This actor asked us why she hadn't been submitted for this project, why the agent hadn't had a conversation about her.  I always find this approach so counter productive.  Here's a big news flash for actors, we don't make any money by NOT submitting you.  Maybe I should have given this actor the casting directors phone number and said,"Why don't you call them and ask why they didn't see you."  Would the actor have had the same aggressive behavior with casting?  Would they assume the casting director wasn't doing their job? Perhaps we can all agree that we are professionals and we are all doing our part of the job.  We generate the auditions and the actors go into the room and audition. Castings role is to take the director or producer's vision and bring in the best actors for the roles.  I get being frustrated.  I get frustrated

January is upon us and now begins the mad dash to April.  This is the time affectionately known as "Pilot Season".  I use the quotes here because the basic truth is that pilot season is a Brigadoon for most actors, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years. Eighty percent of the actors in this town will never experience a real pilot season and most are not prepared to.  I know this is harsh.  I often ask groups of actors at the seminars I give, if they are really ready to carry a pilot and thereafter a series.  Do you really know what that entails and the incredible pressure that is on you when you are number one on the call sheet? It isn't just about playing your part and doing the best you can.  Very often you will be on every page of the script, every week.  You will have wardrobe fittings, makeup tests, photo shoots, interviews, ADR and still carry the show on set and lead a cast and crew who are counting on the success of this

The holidays are here and, though you wouldn't know it from the ring of fire surrounding our office, a good time to get some face time with your agents.  I know it is daunting to add one more thing to your day, but this is the time we are most social and your chance to spend time with the people who represent you.  The business slows down near the holidays.  We have a bit more time to sit and chat with you. This isn't about gifts.  You can come and hand out holiday cards.  Just come and see your agents and let them see you.  This is your opportunity to meet members of the staff you have not met yet.  Got a new haircut?  Come in and show us.  We are happy to see you. It can be daunting.  You walk into your agents office with a gift basket from Costco and your agent has twelve huge baskets surrounding them.  You feel like yours doesn't matter or stand out.  We appreciate any gesture.  Come in with a plate of cookies, or if you really want to stand out, bring fruit or real

The number one question I hear from unrepresented actors is, how do I get an agent?  My answer is, use the people you know.  Using people is the core of this business.  It has bad connotations, but it is the truth.  I use the people i know everyday to get actors into doors that may otherwise not be open.  My friends use me to find the right actors for the role they may be casting.  When they say this business is about who you know, they are not kidding.  But who you know means nothing if you don't use those people to do your business. You can submit to agents until you are blue in the face.  The envelopes may be opened.  They may not.  And if your submission crosses the right desk at the right time, perhaps you will end up with an agent.  Here are a few simple rules that may help your chances.  Keep your cover letter short and simple.  I read so many letters that are trying to be funny. Just the facts. You don't need to tell me you are looking for representation.  That'

So I am sitting here listening to Nat King Cole at the Sands and hearing that one of a kind voice.  I am constantly bombarded with actors telling me that EVERYONE they talk to tells them that they should be doing voice overs.  The fact is that if I could find a way to monetize that one statement I could retire and spend my days at a surf shack on some remote tropical island.  I truly believe that all of these actors think they can have a voice career, and they probably can, but they are unwilling to put in the real work. I can give you a Stradivarius violin, the most amazing instrument in the world, it doesn't mean you are a concert violinist.  You may have been blessed with the most interesting voice on the planet and it doesn't mean you can do voice over.  It takes skill and training to be a successful voice artist.  But the real key to VO success, is reading comprehension .  What is the copywriter trying to say and how can you best help him say it.  You would be amazed at

Simple statement.  We want you to be good.  Know that going in.  Every agent, casting director, producer, director want you to be the answer.  It may not seem that way, but when we walk out into the waiting room we are on your side.  Now, the truth is that much of the time you lose us and you lose us very quickly.  Why?  Good question.  For me it is mainly because you have failed to be yourself.  You are either trying to be "what I am looking for" or you have been told this is a business and this is an interview and so, like a first date, you aren't being real.  I have had actors come into my office in a suit or shirt and tie.  If you don't wear a shirt and tie everyday then don't wear it to my office.  I get up in the morning and put on a suit.  Five days a week.  51 weeks a year.  I am completely comfortable in a suit.  You probably aren't and so you sit in your meeting with me and I don't get the real you.  Another example is the douche bag who came to

So the real question is WHY?  Why have you chosen this crazy profession?  Why couldn't you find a different passion?  Why wasn't the idea of retail shoes inspiring? After you answer those questions there is a whole nuther set of whys.  Why can't I find an agent?  Why did that actor get the role and I didn't?  Why does the number of people who follow me on Instagram have any relation to my getting booked?  This blog will endeavor to answer some of these questions.  If you have been following me at all on social media you will know that I am guy who will give you the honest truth and tr to tell you what is really going on inside the minds of the people in this industry.  I will try to enlighten you on processes and procedures and give you a lot of hard numbers as to the WHYs.  I have been in the entertainment industry for 35 years and a talent agent for the last 29.  I have represented some of the biggest names in the business and made almost every kind of deal conceivabl