The year was 2003. Americans protested France’s stand on the Iraq War by changing the name of “French fries” to “Freedom fries.” An Austrian immigrant named Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California. And yours truly left his position as a lowly assistant to become a Hollywood talent agent.
I remember that year fondly. Everything felt new and exciting. I was going to make a difference. The world was mine. Those are the same kind of naive thoughts rookie cops have during their first year on the job—then the reality of a corrupt system kicks in and their dreams are shattered.
All right, maybe I’m being a drama queen, but during those early days of my career, I really tried to be the most open and accessible agent in town. But I quickly learned that if you give actors an inch, they’ll take six miles.
I know actors seeking representation are always griping that agents never respond to their submissions. They claim that receiving a “no” would be better than nothing. So during my first year as an agent, I tried to address that issue.
READ: How to Submit Yourself to an Agency
I responded to all the submissions that came my way with a brief explanation of why I wasn’t interested and a few kind words of encouragement. Here’s an example: “Thanks for reaching out. You have a great look but, unfortunately, you don’t have enough experience for me to consider you as a client. I would suggest you contact a smaller company that can help you build up your résumé. And remember, every working actor has to start somewhere. Good luck!”
Short and sweet, right? But here’s the problem. It would never end there. Once I opened the path of acknowledgement, I would get flooded by emails and phone calls from actors who falsely assumed they had made a connection with me. It became overwhelming, feelings were hurt, and I stopped responding, even when I had something positive to say.
I felt bad about this, but it really bothered me that my words of encouragement were being abused. And without realizing it at the time, I was creating false expectations. So I opted for radio silence.
Sadly, that rule became necessary in other parts of my professional life. I’ve always enjoyed a night out at the theater, and back then, if a performance made an impression, I would stick around after the show to meet the actor. Sometimes, it was someone I might be interested in signing, but most of the time, it was just someone I felt deserved a little recognition. But good intentions are a bitch and every time I approached a performer in this manner, it would lead to the same flood of phone calls and emails. So these days, when a play is over, the guy in the suit likes to make a quick exit.
I’ve been an agent for almost 14 years now and I’ve built a wall around myself. This wall has a purpose, unlike the imaginary one a certain president keeps dreaming about. And I need this wall to do my job, which is servicing and selling the actors on my list. It took a while to learn that it’s not my job to keep the dreams of strangers alive. That’s something every actor must learn to do on their own.
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