Big Bad Agents

People say they want an agent

But often

Their desire for an agent is overpowered by the fear of rejection

And why the hell wouldn’t it be?

We are social creatures

To get rejected by an agent might feel like the tribe saying

“We don’t think you’re capable enough 

You’re unwanted”

Ouch

So lets just get this out of the way right now

And acknowledge how terrifying trying to get an agent can be

And then let’s get clear about how we can get one that we love

Story time

When I was at drama school (2008-2010)

There was one day which was feared above all others

It was the day where you received “the list”

After three years of intense training 

You would go back into NIDA one week after graduating 

Line up outside a small room

And enter alone

In this room there would be a member of staff sitting behind a desk

With a piece of paper

They would slide the piece of paper across the table

And on the piece of paper 

Were contact details of the agencies who were interested in representing you

…The list 

It was then your job to organise the meetings and hopefully find a match

Yep

Three years of technical training at Australia’s most prestigious institute for performing artists 

Boiled down to a day where people became associated with a number

There might be zero names on your list

There might be twenty names on your list 

And no matter how enlightened you were

Regardless of how much you pretended not to care about external results

The question on everyones mind was 

How wanted were you?

“I got 9”

“Lilly got 3”

“Dave got 14!”

Now

I had some friends in the years above who I thought were really cool

And I wanted to be cool like them

They told me that if I didn’t get offers from two particular agencies 

Who were the big boys back in my day

Then I was basically screwed

These were the same cool cats that said “six packs will get you more work then voice work ever will”

So when I entered my third year

I created what I thought was a plan

(Really it was just focussing on a result without any actionable steps)

I wrote the names of those two agencies on pieces of papers which I stuck on my wall, above my bed, in front of the toilet 

Everywhere

I thought if I kept focussing on the result of getting offers from those two agencies 

Then their names would magically be there on the list at the end of the year

To my absolute horror

When the list was handed to me

Those two names were nowhere to be found

I kept trying to figure out where the spelling mistakes were 

“They obviously must be here somewhere!?”

My heart began pounding

This couldn’t be

Three years of work

Down the drain

All for nothing

What’s worse was that I had seven friends who all signed with those two big agencies within a short time frame

The comparing sapped any last joy I had

“I will never work now

I will never get the opportunities

I will never be a professional actor”

Yeah

I really believed that in order to work

I had to get an offer from specifically those two agencies

A pretty strong belief system I was holding tightly on to

A story I was rigidly telling myself

(And obviously ignoring the fact that a huge number of amazing working actors are represented by other agencies in this country)

A few days passed

I eventually got out from underneath my bed

And despite feeling like I was screwed 

I started to reach out to the people on my list

The meetings commenced

Meetings to find a match

Oh boy

I can remember one where I was sitting at a glass table 

And a well groomed man with perfect eye brows asked me

“Are you a star? 

We only take stars!”

And me faking the most lack lustre confidence in return 

“Uh... Yeah… I’m a star!”

Ew

I felt a tremendous urge to push

To step into someone else’s skin

Someone who was super confident

Charming

Cool

When really I felt the opposite 

I felt scared

Confused 

I felt unwanted

Yes, I was getting opportunities to have meetings with agencies

But they weren’t with the two big shots 

So the confused, young and inexperienced graduate version of me was feeling mighty woeful 

But there was one name on the list I wasn’t looking at seriously

Why?

Because they didn’t have an office address where all the others did

And I thought

“If they aren’t in Redfern or Darlinghurst, how can they be a serious agent?”

But I was running out of options

So I got in my car 

And drove to a suburb far away from the city

Located in a beautiful ocean bay 

I walked up a long driveway

Entered a house 

Sat down on a couch

And was greeted by two little dogs who came and played with my shoes

And for the next 90 minutes

I drank a cup of tea

Overlooking a calm and tranquil rainforest 

And had an honest chat with an extremely kind woman

She did more listening than talking

And asked questions which genuinely got me curious 

It didn’t feel like an agent meeting at all

It didn’t look like the ones I had seen on TV

There were no power games or pretending

My body wasted no energy trying to show or push

Just… an honest conversation 

Eventually we had a hug and said our goodbye’s 

And I remember thinking as I left

“Surely that can’t be a legit agent”

“That felt too… easy”

I spent two days thinking about my decision

Do what I should do & go with suits and fancy glass tables?

Or go with my body & hang out with people I like?

Thirteen years later

Yesterday, in fact

That remarkable woman

Who is still my agent today

Swung by my house to drop off gifts for my newborn daughter (who now shares the same birthday as her)

I actually can’t go into describing my agent without my eyes getting glassy

It has been one of the most significant relationships in my life

We have spoken at least every week for thirteen years straight

This in an industry where the vast majority of actors I know feel uncomfortable about calling their representation for a simple chat

She has been there to console me during my biggest losses

And by my side to celebrate the highs

She has consistently reminded me to bring it back to an enjoyable process 

Especially when my mind has raced ahead and started to push for results 

Or when I get scared & start comparing myself to others

She does things her way

And she supports & encourages her artists to do it theirs

Side note

The seven friends I knew who went with those two big shot agencies at the time?

Every. Single. One.

Has left them for other agencies due to unsatisfactory professional relationships. 

At the end of the day

They thought it was more valuable to have someone they could speak with honestly and openly 

The fancy bells and whistles just ain’t sustainable

And people eventually get tired of having to put on a “winning smile” all the time

Back to my agent…

It’s a fairytale story, right?

Hold your horses 

18 months after signing with my Australian agent

I was the runner-up in the Heath Ledger Scholarship

Which got me free tickets to go get set up in LA

Ooo 

The shoulds began again

“I HAVE to get one of the big 5 agents in the USA

Otherwise I will never work!”

Now

If I thought I had some interesting meeting experiences in Australia

America said “hold my beer”…

“There’s no one like you Sheasby!”

“Nobody could pull off double denim like you bro!”

“There’s some great strip clubs in your area, we should hit them up brother!”

The glass tables were longer

Instead of two or three people sitting opposite me 

There were now eleven

The pushing to impress was on steroids 

And I swallowed it hook, line and sinker

I laughed at the jokes that weren’t funny

I smiled like I had seen guys smile in toothpaste adverts rather than smiling like myself 

And I nodded my head at whatever was presented in front of me 

All despite my gut screaming

“This doesn’t feel good!”

There was one lady though

Whom my Australian agent insisted I meet

Let’s call her Jenny

She repped actors I really admired including Viggo & Malkovich 

Jenny said she had full books but was open to having a chat

What could I lose?

So after 10 days of exhausting schmoozing in LA

I walked into her office and flopped on her couch

She straight away took her shoes off

And flopped on the other couch across the room

We both gave up

And

Like my Australian agent

She listened more than spoke

Asked wonderfully curious questions

And gave me the space to explore my answers 

In fact, within half an hour I had tears rolling down my cheeks whilst discussing a personal relationship that was giving me grief at the time

Point being

Just some easy, honest chats

No facades

No games

No bells & whistles

That night

As I strolled along the path to a fancy dinner 

Where the chandelier was worth more than the house I grew up in

My phone rang

“Jenny would love to represent you”

Oh!

I was really surprised

But I knew I was about to have a meeting with possibly the coolest agent in LA

Who repped even cooler actors 

So I said “Let me call you back tomorrow”

That evening 

I was wined and dined like never before

Told crazy stories about partying with some of the biggest actors in Hollywood

Promised the keys to the city

And was given a lift home in a sports car

God 

I felt cool

It felt like such a lie

I knew where the real value in this industry was - What someone contributes in between action and cut

But still

I felt cool.

When I got back to Australia and sat down with my wonderful agent

She listened to me describe all the meetings and people

And in her extraordinary and wise way she said

“Pretty clear to me who you would work best with, Mike

I think you have to go with your gut on this”

I knew it too

But this time

I didn’t listen

I chose cool

And it is still to this day, one of the only things I regret in my 20 years of acting

I have never in my life regretted going with my gut

But I have absolutely regretted not listening to my body 

The funny thing is

I believe that in the long run

Truth will always find a way to reveal itself 

No matter how much I have tried to should my way into be cool, charming, confident, etc 

At some point 

I end up tripping on the red carpet and laughing like a kid

Saying an awkward joke which no-one but me understands

Or having my insecurities or nerves shine through brightly 

And what I have found

Is when I give myself permission to stumble, cry, feel what I feeling

That’s when I find people I match with really well

If I could boil networking down to one principle?

Hang out with people you like

People who you resonate with

So

How to get an agent…

Time to slow down and be kind :)

(Also time to get a pen and pad)

One

How do you want the relationship to feel (kind, honest, collaborative, professional, etc)

Two

Find artists in the industry you resonate with & look at who represents them

Three

Create a short, honest list of agents you wish to share a cup of tea with (2-3 great options)

Four 

Have everything ready to go (Honest & concise cover letter, 2/3 bits of footage you’re actually proud of, headshot, etc)

Five 

Find a genuine approach in line with your values - This is a big one

To do the same thing as everyone else and expect a unique result… 

Might be a little delusional 

So the last thing I would do is send a cold email to an address designed for spam

Agents have firewalls set up to prevent the onslaught of “can you rep me?”

Someone’s nephew is sitting at a desk right now copying and pasting the same response to those 20 emails per day without actually looking at them

“Thank you, but our books are full”

So find a way which works for you

Do you know someone you resonate with who has an agent they resonate with who can give you a number to call for a cuppa?

Or is it time to pull up your socks and go do the terrifying but courageous act of walking up to people and introducing yourself in public?

Is it time to write a handwritten note and attach it to flowers or a pizza?

Would you prefer to knit a scarf and send it in a box with a headshot that says “I promise I can act better than I knit”?

Permission to do things your way! 

My 2 week old daughter just pooped on my shirt as I type this in bed 

So time for me to go

But one last thing

If you put all your focus and energy into improving your skills 

Skills which allow you to give incredibly generous work in between “action” and “cut”

Everything will take care of itself

Eventually

Your tapes will find their way to the surface

Your auditions will make their way through the fire walls

Your behaviour on set will be spoken about behind closed doors

And those agents will chase you

Because they see you are are focussed on what’s most important

Contributing good work

So

Always 

Bring it back to the work

The craft of acting

Just get so good they can’t ignore you

(But still hang out with people you like)

Hope this helps 

X