The Successful Talent: Tips for the Actor & Model

AGENT ACCESSIBILITY

Another question at “the round table” discussions is the level of accessibility to the talent’s agent.  Is your agent accessible?

The question is subjective based on the individual talent’s need to be able to access the agent, of course.  Some talent have a considerable need whereas others may be more self-sufficient, so the same amount of time can be given to two different talent and each talent may have a very different perspective of whether or not their agent is accessible. 

Agents should be accessible to talent for casting and booking purposes, as talent should be accessible to their agent for casting and booking purposes.  (I find myself asking if a certain talent will be accessible frequently, too, believe it or not.)   Agents should also be accessible to clients who are looking to book an actor or model for their production.  Any accessibility above and beyond that is a big plus.

Most agents offer to advise talent on additional ventures like marketing materials because it is in the mutual partnership’s best interest, but any additional accessibility on the part of the agent is offered free of charge and therefore, should not be taken for granted.

If you find yourself frustrated that your agent is not meeting your needs, assess first what your needs are.  Write them down on paper so that they are concrete.  If the needs not being met are reasonably within your agent’s job description (how they get paid), it’s worth addressing tactfully and professionally.  Ask if there is something you can do as a talent to access the agent when needed in the future.  If the needs on your paper are outside of the agent’s responsibilities, share your needs with your agent and ask who you can go to in order to have those needs met.  Your agent may direct you to a coach, manager, or other industry professional.

Knowing your concerns allows the agent to respond more sympathetically.  Although it may be impossible for one agent to meet all the needs of all their talent, being familiar with personal nuances can help ease the strain a talent may have felt.  Being more fulfilled and knowing someone takes an interest in your concerns can go a long way to making a relationship work smoothly!

BROKEN COMMUNICATION

So what happens if the agent’s preferred mode of communication isn’t working for you?  It’s a tough situation to be in, so take a deep breath and realize that you are likely already frustrated.  Asking your agent to change what is working well for him/her, and in doing so causing him/her to be less effective for every talent on their roster probably isn’t a good idea.  That doesn’t mean you are stuck, though!

Agents work in a world that talent never see.  Talent work in a world that agents seldom understand.  Like peanut butter and jelly, the two can work in conjunction to create a timeless partnership, but taking time to figure out the other person’s world can help bridge that gap.

I took an acting class last year.  It had been years since I had performed and frankly, it brought back a lot of really exhilarating feelings, but it also drudged up a lot of fear and anxiety I used to know all too well.  As an agent, I had forgotten some of the trials that actors face on a daily basis and I was thankful (after surviving the month long torture session at the hands of a very talented and grueling coach) that I could be reminded of what I felt as a talent.  Sympathizing again with the actor’s emotions, dreams, and road-blocks helped me connect better with my actors and think on their terms when discussing their opportunities.

Actors can do the same thing by exposing themselves to the production side of the industry.  Previous blogs have suggested interning to see what life on the other side of the camera is truly like.  Actors and models who have freelanced or interned for the agency are shocked to learn what an average day is like.  And like my sympathy for the actor, those actors who have seen the daily highs and lows of being behind the desk become more understanding and forgiving of the agent’s position.

So you don’t prefer the agent’s mode of communication, right?  All of the sympathy talk is leading us to this point.  Your agent is a human, too.  Your agent has feelings, hopes, dreams, desires, and dares to think that all the hard work will pay off one day – just like you.  If you find it impossible to communicate with them as they have requested, ask (through their requested mode of communication) to have some of their time.  If you can get them out of the office for coffee or a drink it’s even better.  Let them know you are frustrated with the form of communication.  Be clear about what exactly you need rather than what you aren’t getting.  And then be open to allowing the agent to suggest a plan that might be a compromise you can both agree to try.

You have an agent working hard for you.  Don’t lose it over something that can be easily fixed with a little time, tact, and professional consideration!

TALENT TO AGENT COMMUNICATION

A group of talented actors meet for intense coaching once a week in the city.  After their session, they tend to continue their bond, banter, and education at a chosen venue; they don’t know it, but I call this “the round table.”  The topic of their round table discussions may vary slightly, but it usually involves their specific challenges, triumphs, and confusion related to the world of entertainment.  One of those actors shared the questions, concerns, and ideas and it caught my interest.  If these actors are wondering and asking similar questions, my guess is that the majority of the talent pool is doing the same!  Granted, most of the topics shared with me pertained to the relationship between talent and agent, so that’s where we will start.

The talent asked, “what is an agent’s preferred mode of communication?”  But first I would ask, why should the talent need to communicate in the manner that best suits the agent?  It’s easy to see that there are a lot of talent on any agency’s roster.  “A lot” can equate subjectively, but even a boutique agency with only a hundred or so talent can be overwhelming at times.  Sincere communication takes time and effort.   Devoting time and effort to every talent individually fills the day up rather quickly.  The agent’s goal during the day is to book, book, book.  Anything other than booking is taking time away from the one thing you sought the agent out for in the first place – to be booked!  Although an agent may want to be able to go the extra mile, agreeing to communicate in the most effective medium for the sake of your agent’s time is a wise choice.  Your agent is not only answering to your needs, but also the needs of just as many clients on a daily basis, and giving the clients who need to book talent first priority is most advantageous to the talent themselves. 

An agent’s preferred mode of communication is likely to vary depending on their individual situations.  Just like each individual talent, there is going to be a certain operation style that each agent will wish to use.  We tell our talent, for example, that email is best if it’s not “a casting, booking, or emergency.”  Using email serves a variety of purposes, among which are to keep phone lines open for clients to request bookings and for the agent to be able to effectively pitch talent as needed . . . to avoid talent requests, questions, and needs from falling through the cracks in a day with constant interruptions . . . to maintain a record of information and to remind us of issues that aren’t simple “one-phone-call” fixes . . . and many others.  Some agents may prefer to do business over the phone or via text or video chat.

The bottom line is that whatever mode of communication your agent is using already works.  If it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right?  Agents are innovative personalities and are likely to put together a specific plan that will keep their day moving as smoothly as possible at it’s very fast pace.  Be sure you are swimming downstream to help you partnership function effectively.  It’s an easy way to get brownie points, stay at the top of your agent’s mind, and show your flexibility!

IMPENETRABLE BOUNDARIES

Whereas most creative and emotional souls are more apt to dive too deeply into professional relationships, there are those who find it challenging to develop friendly relationships altogether.  Building walls that no one can scale is another way to close doors on a career.

There are more introverts in entertainment than the world might think, and those “gregarious on the outside” souls find it challenging to step out of their comfort zone and cultivate relationships outside of the professional environment.  Learning to have meaningful conversation with near-strangers is crucial to a talent’s success and in the case of introverts, tearing down the walls is just as challenging as setting solid boundaries might be for the extroverted talent. 

Being an introvert myself, I can sympathize with how challenging it is to make yourself vulnerable to others.  Here are some ways that I have found to combat my internal urges to hide.

**Just do it!  The Nike slogan couldn’t be more appropriate in this situation.  Each time we force ourselves to practice a habit, it becomes more natural to us.

**Be the initiator.  Connect with professionals in a one-on-one situation where you can be more comfortable opening up.  Try suggesting coffee, a visit to the dog park with your pups, or meeting at a new hot spot for happy hour.  Choose the atmosphere where you can be most comfortable and then be willing to pull your weight in the conversation.

**Host an event.  This is a great way to practice being vulnerable in public while still having support.  Invite those closest to you whom you can trust and lean on if an awkward situation should arise.  As a host, your time to connect with individuals will be short and sweet, and the event could be a great opportunity to support a charitable cause!  What kind of event, you ask?  The sky is the limit!  Your dinner table could be a start and a national charity auction could be your eventual goal.

The key is not allowing yourself to be lost in the caves of hermit comfort.  Being seen, building your network, and showing genuine interest in others (and other organizations) is important for a talent to reach his or her maximum potential.  Are you setting yourself up for success?

PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES

Maintaining good boundaries is difficult in any walk of life.  Doing so in entertainment can seem like it requires the acrobatic skills of a circus performer.  How does an actor or model know when to develop a relationship outside of the studio? 

It’s hard to say that any advice covers every situation, so a good amount of personal judgment goes into the specific circumstances.  If the potential friend is a director, producer, casting director, or production assistant, any outside friendship should maintain a reasonable distance if a successful career is the main focus.  But personal relationships can give a powerful advantage when there is a job on the table.

There are cases where I’ve seen talent develop more intimate friendships with decision-makers.  In these cases, when things were rosy it worked in the talent’s favor.  However, when the friendship was challenged or on the rocks, that advantage quickly morphs into a sizable disadvantage.  Even intimate friendships that do not become physical can have highs and lows.  Take into account the detriment of the low before deciding to open up with your deepest darkest secrets.  Maintaining an acquaintanceship with these industry professionals is wise and helpful long term; becoming bosom buddies can prove to be thin ice, though!

Once that line from professional into personal has been crossed, what should the friendship look like?  The answer isn’t simple and will vary depending on the two people involved, but there are some safe rules to generally abide by.

**Avoid the  subjects of religion and politics – the chance of disagreements springing from minor details aren’t worth the bad vibes.

**Keep things platonic even when the spark is there.  Relationships between two people who feel an attraction are difficult to ignore, but acting on those feelings in an industry where emotions are worn on sleeves can douse those sparks as quickly as they flamed.

**Maintain the mystery that captivates your audience.  Sharing deeply personal information can have strong effects on others based on their own deeply personal experiences.  Drudging up painful emotional places from someone’s past is a good way to be shut out altogether.

EMOTIONAL BOUNDARIES

Like professional boundaries, the actor and model must learn to set safe emotional boundaries with industry personnel.  I once had a model who developed a personal relationship with a production manager, whom she had worked with on set several times.  The model and production manager started collaborating outside of their professional atmosphere on projects they shared an interest in.  It seemed like a great way to develop a partnership!

Over time, the model began to rely on the production manager personally.  She shared painful events as they happened in her family.  She shared her fears about romantic relationships and even some stories about her current beau.  She welcomed the chance to connect and trust the production manager, who seemed willing to offer advice and showed an interest in her problems.

A very short while after their personal relationship had been cultivated, the model went to go-sees where the production manager was in charge.  The production manager did not show the model favor, which caused the model's feelings to be hurt.  Worse than that, the production manager started being “unavailable” when the model would try to make contact personally.  Since then, the model has not booked any work with the production manager’s studio.  Although the production manager will still remain civil and seemingly kind to the model, the consequences of her emotional weight proved too much and cost her a client long term.

Talent are hired for a reason . . . perhaps the actor or model is highly skilled; perhaps he/she has something unique to offer; and perhaps the talent just happened to be in the right place at the right time.  But no matter the reason, there is one variable we can be sure played into the decision – the mystery of the unknown.  Clients want to be intrigued in their encounters with any actor or model.  The intrigue is what keeps them coming back.  Total transparency loses the intrigue and leads to boredom with anyone.  Keep your ace in the hole – no one needs to know everything!

PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES

In an industry where so much networking is done (and so many decision are made) after work hours and outside of the office, professional boundaries can easily be blurred.  Mixing a personal relationship with professional relationships may be a requirement on at least some level, but being able to balance them successfully is often a challenge.

We’ve all heard or seen an entertainer and thought/shared the fact that they aren’t the most talented at whatever it is they do.  Great musicians, great actors, and great directors aren’t always the most successful in their field – and frequently it is because they are unable to balance relationships as successfully as less talented individuals.  After all, success in any field is about more than just our individual efforts!

Actors and models are told to attend any and every party and meet as many people as possible.  The key to balancing these relationships is to just keep them personal on a safe level, and always professional.  Personal on a safe level means not sharing your deepest darkest fears, secrets, or dislikes.  It means having the restraint to not really tell the director you hated his/her ideas while on set.  It also means not sharing your opinion of another actor/model’s performance. 

There are a lot of pitfalls that a talent should avoid when building lasting relationships with other professionals in the business.  It might be easier to remember the things you should discuss, though.  Talk about the latest movie or advertisement you saw (and enjoyed).  Focus on the positives and ask others what their take was on it.  If they steer the conversation to negative talk, hear them out, but don’t join in.  Talk about personal things that are interesting, but not private.  Again, focus on positive things happening in your family, home life, or with your kids.

You can’t avoid developing these relationships, so do it wisely!  Choose to discuss positive industry related events and positive personal events.  After a friendship starts to blossom, don’t be tempted to share anything additional.  Everyone is human and has an emotional reaction to certain subjects.  Avoid putting yourself in a place where your sharing might cause a negative reaction on someone else’s emotional life while being connected to your name.  And save those venting sessions for your best friend who works in another field!

SPECIAL SKILLS VS. HOBBIES (THE RESUME)

In the world of entertainment, talent are naturally the “entertainers.”  You may think that’s a given, but take the thought a bit further and think about what you have to offer that really is entertaining!  Coming up blank?

Here’s the bottom line:  we watch things on television that are interesting.  How many shows do you get excited about that honestly resemble everyday life?  The viewer (the individual a talent is hired to entertain) wants to see and experience something outside of what they spend their daily life doing.  Even shows like The Office aren’t the typical day to day life, despite the setting and situations.  In this case, a handful of extreme characters make the show interesting and solidify the viewership.   (Yes, you may have one crazy person in your office, but that doesn’t make you Pam.)

Now getting back on track, what is it that makes you interesting?  Like getting viewers, sometimes showcasing an interesting facet can get a talent noticed or help the talent become memorable!

So what does the Special Skills section of your resume say about you?  Sure, teleprompter is important, but what skill do you possess that less than 20% of your peer group can do?

What about your Hobbies?  Something that may not seem like a big deal to you might be exactly what a production is looking for!  Maybe knitting is boring for some people, but if there is an infomercial looking for a host to promote a new knitting book or product, you just might direct book yourself into a job by mentioning it!

Don’t limit yourself – these two categories are gold mines when utilized well!  Even posting your special skills as a comment to this blog might get more hits connected to your name in the great world of google – why not tell us what makes you special?

HOW TO BE AWESOME

Fulfilling our potential is never an easy task.  There are times when we just don't feel like it; don't want to get out of bed; feel like a venture may be 'below us'; or maybe just don't want to face the music.  No one ever said being successful was easy.  The first step is making the decision to be in control of the choices that will make you awesome.  The second step is acting on your awesome-ness!

Colleen Wainwright digs deeper into what AWESOME-NESS really means . . .

You, the communicator, must be as close to 100% awesome all the time as you can be. What do I mean by "AWESOME"? I'm glad you asked.

I see awesomeness in this application as breaking down into three guiding behaviors:

1. Be useful
2. Be specific
3. Be nice

Think of being useful as doing things that add value to other people's lives. Being useful is all about tactics--all the many actions you can take to provide people with information, support or entertainment.  For now, remember that pretty much every possible way you can be useful boils down to one of those three things: sharing true information, offering true support or providing true entertainment.

An example of a useful email you might send to me: one that provides me with a great link (information); one that says you forwarded my column (support); or one that is exquisitely written (entertainment). These can be combined to great effect: sending a beautifully written email with a great idea for a column and a "P.S." that you enjoyed my work so much, you forwarded it on to your struggling actor friend in [insert state name here].

When you are being specific, you are being strategic. Specificity is about saying "this, not that." Specificity is about standing strongly for something in particular rather than everything in general. In terms of your acting career, for example, specificity is about knowing your exact type in the marketplace, even if you can play so, so much more. Specificity is also about knowing how to and choosing to behave appropriately according the rules of the venue you find yourself in.

An example of a specific email: Asking one clear, answerable question. You would be amazed at how many "How do I get an agent?" emails I get. Or maybe you wouldn't. After all, you hang out around actors, too.

I know you know all about being nice, but it has to stay on the list. Being nice in this context doesn't mean being sugary-sweet and agreeable (although as you can and where appropriate, not a bad idea). It's about the other guy--about having consideration for someone else besides yourself as you move through the world (online and real) and put the word out there.

An example of a nice email: Taking time to write a shorter letter. Holy moses, can you kids run on! Like I have time to read my regular work email, much less the grand and sweeping saga of your Very Special Snowflake situation.

Colleen's three simple guidelines aren't shocking, but their application is rare and impressive.  Ever heard a talent referred to as "a breath of fresh air . . ."  We want that talent to be YOU!  Set yourself apart by thinking about what you can do today to be AWESOME.  Over time, it will become second nature and the talent masses will envy your success!

THE ATTENTION DEFICIT

Are you getting the amount of attention as a talent that you should?  A dose of advice from Colleen Wainwright of The Communicatrix might do you good.

A brief lesson in the new golden rule and how it applies to the smart actor living in today's attention economy.

One question I get with reasonable regularity is "How do I get people to pay attention to my (BLANK)?" The (BLANK) in question used to be "stage play" (and plays are notoriously hard to get people to pay attention to), but a (BLANK) can now just as easily be "YouTube channel," "Facebook page" or even "anything I send them."

There's no easy answer for this. Everyone--civilians, included--is inundated with choices of things to consume. The networks compete with the Internet, the Internet competes with video games, they all compete with everything else we all have to do in our lives. Money and power are nice, fame gets you access, but attention is the most valuable resource of all. So how do you get a slice of that very valuable attention? By adhering to one simple principle:

Always be AWESOME.

First and foremost, you must excel at your core competency--i.e., you must be the most awesome actor/model you can be. Yes, you will get better and better with more and more experience. But at any given moment, you must be the most awesome actor you can be right now. This is cost-of-entry, or as I've called it, the all-things-being-equal rule.

You may get away with being a little less of a great actor than some other actor if you are exceptionally gifted in some other sought-after area, such as being extraordinary on the looks scale (either end of it, ugly or pretty) or playing crazy young/old for your age if you're a minor/senior, but don't make the mistake of relying on something that is evanescent and/or out of your control. Being off-the-charts good at calf-roping might get you work when Westerns are hot, but what about when they're not? Exactly.

Being an AWESOME evangelist

Even if you're the most stupendous actor working at the very, very top of their game, ultimately you can get tripped up if you aren't also the most awesome representative of yourself that you can be. That's right: it's not just up to your agent and manager and other minions to keep the word of your awesomeness out there; you've got to do it yourself by being awesome in every aspect of how you interact with your peers, your gatekeepers, your associates and your fans. (Especially your fans.)

We will talk about how to be AWESOME according to Colleen's guidelines in future blog posts.  The first step in righting your "attention deficit," however, is how YOU act, how YOU are perceived, and how YOU treat others around you.  Each time a talent gets lazy, doesn't turn on 100% of their potential, doesn't do their homework ahead of time, doesn't show up with the materials requested in good order, or drops the ball in any other fashion, the "awesome-ness" quotient drops.  Maintaining "awesome-ness" is challenging enough, but rebuilding what has been damaged is hard labor and can leave the talent toiling to prove themselves for years to come.  Be in control of making good choices . . . be awesome at every opportunity . . . and be the cream of the crop in the talent world!