Back in the day, agents used to attend “workshops.” These were scene showcases that gave us the opportunity to meet brand-new talent that might be worth signing but then the government stepped in and determined that those workshops were a bigger threat to our future than climate change and the homelessness crisis.
When I was part of that scene, I always enjoyed the question and answer sessions. It allowed me to learn what was on the minds of performers who were trying to get their careers off the ground, and they got the chance to see what agents are about.
One of the questions I used to receive all the time was “What do you like about your job?” And I learned to answer quickly, because if I hesitated for even a moment, the actors would assume I was unhappy with my chosen career.
So what was my response? What’s the best part of being an agent? A lot of actors think it’s the money, and I’m going to shock you by saying it’s not. I make a decent living, but I’m certainly not rich. There’s a class system in this business, and the majority of us agent types are part of the middle class. We earn plenty of dough, but we’re not living in Bel Air or driving Ferraris up to our beach homes in Malibu. That life belongs to the upper class who represent celebrities. (Ari Gold from “Entourage,” I am not.) On the flip side, we have the lower class who squeeze out a living by working with one-line day players. I’ve seen them in their old Honda Civics with dented fenders. It’s not pretty.
Me? I’m somewhere in the middle. The truth is, money has never been my sole motivation. If it was, I would’ve joined my older brother on Wall Street. He used his first bonus to make a down payment on an amazing townhouse on the Upper West Side. But he’s a broker, and he’s going to burn in hell—so it’s all good.
If it’s not the money, what exactly do I love about my job? Well, I’m the type of cat who gets bored easily. I thrive on variety. And when you represent actors, every day is different. I can be in the office or I can be on set visiting a client or I can be attending a red-carpet event. No two days are alike, and I dig that.
I also love helping creative people achieve their goals. There’s no better feeling than watching a young actor burst into tears when he books his first job. Or hearing the shocked screams of a client when you announce her pilot has been picked up to series. It’s very validating, especially when you were the first one to believe in that person. And over the years, I’ve helped a lot of actors go from rags to riches. Unlike my Wall Street brother, I know I’m not riding the down elevator when I shuffle off this mortal coil, so I’ve got that going for me—which is nice!
Truth be told, the best part of being a Hollywood agent is being able to say you’re a Hollywood agent. That never gets old. And I stand a little taller every time I say it.
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