Aaron Marcus, an actor with 39+ years of experience, explains how to prepare for a talent agent meeting. Research the agent on social media to find personal details, then craft a story that shows who you are and hints at your marketability, rather than listing credits. Agents earn commissions on talent that generates work, so they need to see both your personality and your potential.
Do you have a talent agent meeting? Well, if so, here's the best way to prepare. And if you watch this video to the end, I've got a great bonus video for you. It's 4 tips for making your audition even stronger. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to the Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center, where I share information with you based on my 39+ years of experience working as a full-time actor. Before I tell you about the best way to prepare before meeting an agent, here's something you need to know when you are seeking representation. Just please keep this in mind, and I don't mean this in a disrespectful way at all, but the reality is agents need us more than we need them. Look, we can find work on our own. And look, I'm not saying you don't want an agent. Of course you want an agent. It's great having having an agent. An agent will really help your career. But here's the thing, I don't want you to go into a meeting with an agent thinking and feeling, oh, I've got to have this agent, I need this person. And look, they might be a great agent, but the thing is, if it doesn't work out, there are lots of other agents out there. So please just treat them In the same way that you would treat anybody else in this world. And just keep in mind, if for any reason it doesn't work out, it's okay. There are plenty of other agents out there. And so here's one thing that you absolutely want to do. Sometimes it's not even what you say, it's how you go about saying it. And having this information will completely change the way you go to a meeting. So when you have a— if you have a meeting, and which is great, congratulations, here's what you want to do. Find out which agent from the agency you're going to be talking to, or maybe it's the owner of the agency, it doesn't make any difference. Find out as much as you can about their life. You know, you can go to LinkedIn, you can try Instagram, You can try YouTube if they're on TikTok. You know, you go to any social media platforms, Twitter, and look them up. And you want to do some real hard investigative work. You want to find out where did they grow up? Once again, if you can. And by the way, all the things I'm going to mention to you, The reason for doing this is so that you have a better sense and a better strategy for your meeting. And I'll tell you what I mean in just a minute. Let's say if you find out where they grew up, maybe it's someplace near you. Maybe find out if they went to college, where they went to college. Maybe you can find out some hobbies that they have. Maybe you have some similar hobbies. Maybe find out what their interests are. Do they do any volunteer work? And those will be incredibly valuable to you because typically when you are meeting with an agent, there are a couple questions that might pop up. One of them might be, so, you know, tell me a little bit about yourself. Now, don't fall into this trap, and a lot of actors do. They start listing jobs they— that they've had. Oh, I've worked with this actor. I've done, you know, these TV commercials. Uh, You know what? They have a resume to look at. They don't need that. They don't want to hear that. They want to get a sense of who you are. So once you've done your research, let's say there are pictures of the agent with his or her dog. Okay? So that's telling you that they have an interest in dogs. And let's say you do too. Let's say you have a dog. So if it were me, and this is somebody that I'm going to be meeting with who is an animal lover, I might say, so tell me a little bit about yourself. Well, I tell you, I spend a lot of time with my dog. Actually, he was a rescue. He was at a— I hate to say it, but he was at a kill shelter. And we have a friend who fosters dogs, and actually my wife was going out with For a walk with her friend, our friend, and she brought Jamie, this dog that she is fostering that she got from the— went from a kill shelter to the SPCA. And Jamie walked over and got up on 2 hind legs and hugged my wife's legs. And my wife looked at her friend and said, he's ours. We want him. And we waited 6 years. Wow. Since our last dog passed away before we were ready for another dog. Kind of felt like we were cheating on our dog if we got a dog too soon after Brookie died. So we got him, and this pup changed our lives again. I mean, he just brings so much kindness and sweetness and love into the family. So What a great story that would be. So find something that will be of real interest and some kind of connection. Maybe the person's into martial arts, that's something you're involved with. Maybe the person also loves music and you're a musician. Find something to connect with and tell a story. Look, we're actors, that's what we do, we tell stories. And that way the person Who you're meeting with will get a much better sense of who you are as a human being, will like the kinds of things that you're saying, feel a bond, a connection. Now, look, the person also has to feel that they can make money with you. I mean, it is a business, and that's really what things do come down to. They're not going to represent somebody because they think they're nice. They're going to represent somebody who, because they are nice and because they feel they're going to book jobs and have success, because we're the ones that allow agents to make a living. They take a percentage from every job. So find something in common if you can, and if for some reason there isn't anything in common, then still tell a story and, and make it definitive, just like with your audition. Don't, don't try to play the audition safe and make it generic and kind of keep it in the middle because you don't want to take the character in the wrong direction. It might not be right. Forget that because that will never be an interesting audition. And I know I'm kind of jumping here, but came into my head. I want to share it with you. So find the story, make it interesting, and that is probably the best way to prepare. Of course, you have to have all the right materials and things like that, but that's another video, another workshop. But I just wanted to share the best way to prepare before meeting an agent. Hey, look, if you haven't done this yet, don't forget, subscribe, click the notification bell so you always know when a new video has been uploaded. If you like the video, which I certainly hope you do, give it a thumbs up because that is very helpful. And share, share this video link with fellow actors so we can continue to build a channel with actors who are helping each other. And look, if you have any suggestions on great ways to prepare before meeting an agent, please share it here in the comment section so other fellow actors can learn from you as well. I did promise that I was going to share a, a quick tip video with you, and you can find it right up here. And it's 4 great tips that will make your audition even stronger. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
