Yourcinemafilms.com | Leading acting agents Nina Malone and Fela Oke from IAG Talent share key tips for actors trying to make it in the industry.
Whether you're a newcomer trying to break into the scene or an experienced actor aiming to reach new heights, this discussion is a must-watch.
If you find this video helpful, share it with your fellow actors who could benefit from this advice.
Interview from Our Stories Festival 2023, presented by Your Cinema
Follow us on socials:
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Whether you're a newcomer trying to break into the scene or an experienced actor aiming to reach new heights, this discussion is a must-watch.
If you find this video helpful, share it with your fellow actors who could benefit from this advice.
Interview from Our Stories Festival 2023, presented by Your Cinema
Follow us on socials:
Tiktok: @yourcinemafilms
Twitter: @yourcinemafilms
Instagram: @yourcinemafilms
Facebook: Yourcinemafilms
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FunTranscript
00:00 Please have your questions ready. I have a few questions so I'll start. I don't want to be an
00:04 actor but I have some questions that I want to understand that might help you guys but
00:10 yeah very soon we'll be throwing to the audience so please have your questions ready.
00:14 A closed mouth doesn't get fed isn't it? Are we ready to go? All right let's do it. Cool so
00:21 Nina and Fela. Cool you guys are agents. What does an agent do?
00:28 Okay hi. Right I think that's a very good question. I think a lot of people aren't clear
00:37 what an agent does, what a casting director does and what your job is as a professional actor.
00:42 So I spend my day talking to casting directors, directors, producers about our amazing talent.
00:51 I am trying to get meetings, self-tapes and just get my actors on their radar. That's what I'm
00:58 doing day to day for majority of my talent. For talent who are on jobs I'm supporting them. For
01:05 talent who have finished shooting we are talking about PR, strategy and what's next. That's yeah
01:14 part of what I'm doing today. A lot of it comes down to support as well. Thinking about the
01:21 actor's headspace. Are you in the right place to tape? What you need around you to produce the
01:27 best work you possibly can and kind of supporting them through that. Yeah every day. Yeah let me,
01:35 how's everybody doing? Don't look so nervous.
01:40 That question gets bandied around a lot right. You know what does an agent do? What does a manager do?
01:48 The fundamental thing we do is we are conduits to get you guys to where you want to get to.
01:53 That's what an agent does and Nina's explained the day-to-day
01:57 of what an agent does. The bottom line is we find you work.
02:04 You know there's no other way to sugarcoat it. You know there's this mystery around what we do
02:09 but really and truly we bust a gut every day to ensure that you guys are well prepared
02:16 for your self-tapes, to be seen by casting but the fundamental thing that you have to understand is
02:23 you have to do your part. You know and that's quite key. A lot of talent they miss that. They
02:28 think I've got an agent and that's it. I can go to bed at night and I'm good but if you're not
02:33 prepared then what we do doesn't really make any difference to your lives. So it's a two-way
02:39 exchange and that's how I like to say it. You know sometimes you know the objective is the same. Nina
02:48 and I have the same objectives but our methods might differ because we are individuals as well.
02:54 She's better organized than I am and yeah that's pretty much what we do.
03:02 Amazing. Cool so you guys are very clear on what your role is. What do you expect
03:10 your actors or your clients to do? Yeah I mean like I just try to you know explain. I think for me
03:18 the key thing is you know I'm gonna drop some corny gems here. The actor must be prepared right.
03:27 Nobody plans to fail as they say you know but if you fail to plan then nothing happens.
03:33 So you know IAG is a very unique agency because we are also attached to a school I dare say
03:42 and I'm going to use that as an example. So I dare say you're training three I think they do what
03:49 two days a week. Yeah. So like six to nine hours max. Your contemporaries at other schools are
03:55 doing 40 hours a week. So in between that so I need you as my talent to be as prepared as possible.
04:03 So whether that's looking at other opportunities to get to be trained constantly. Look at ways to
04:11 stand out from the crowd. I think actors you have to kind of understand that you have chosen probably
04:17 the most subjective career the toughest career to be in and it's not a joke and if you're in it to
04:24 be a star I always say to my talent if you're in it to be to become a star you're in it for the
04:29 wrong reasons. You know what I mean. So I always say you know you've got to really dig deep within
04:34 and ask yourself why am I doing this. Is this my passion or is this because everybody says
04:40 I can act. It's a massive difference and I think that's that's really a fundamental thing that you
04:46 have to take away. You must be prepared at all times. You must constantly train.
04:52 That goes from accent training. If I say how many people here can do an American accent
04:58 throw your hands up. Right. Is that because you've watched loads of Hollywood movies or you've
05:05 actually trained to do an American accent. Right. So very few people are trained. And is it a generic
05:14 American accent you're trained to do because a lot of people I'm asking that question because
05:18 a lot of people get it confused and they think well I can do have watched power and I can do
05:24 power. Well power is generic. That series is actually in the generic accent. I've made a lot
05:30 of actors who start focusing on doing a southern accent and I'm always like no hone your generic
05:38 American first. If I say how many people can do an RP accent here throw your hands up.
05:45 What's the RP accent. Nina over to you. Oh yeah. Yeah. Bridgerton. That's what she says. Right. So
05:54 it's that kind of training because a lot of the time you know especially for us as an agency
06:01 we're very North America focused a lot of our talent we're looking to build your career so we
06:06 can then you know open up Hollywood for you. And to do that your generic American must be
06:12 pretty much under 50 percent perfect. Perfect. Your RP must be damn near perfect. And everything
06:20 RP is that Shakespeare. No. You know it's just I see a lot of actors here saying no.
06:26 I'm not going to ask you to give an example. But so I think yes prepare prepare prepare. One of
06:33 our things is you know I.G. the work is the work is the work. That's really the fundamental thing
06:39 that we go by. And that's what we expect you to do. Yeah I think for me for talent what burns me
06:46 is when I want it more than the talent wants it. So if you are telling me you want to act
06:54 and we've taken you onto the agency I know my work ethic and it's upsetting if we send out a tape
07:03 and then we're chasing you for the tape. So if you're saying you want to do this then you've
07:08 got to meet you've got to meet me. You've got to meet us. You know meet the work ethic. It really
07:13 is a partnership. So all this stuff we're talking about your part is to stay prepared so that when
07:19 we're going out and saying yes they can do a flawless U.S. accent you can really do a flawless
07:24 U.S. accent. If you can't it's totally fine. And all of these things take time. None of this happens
07:29 overnight. It's absolutely a marathon not a sprint. But if you're saying you can do it then I'm going
07:35 to take that and run with it and tell everybody you can. So that's what I'm looking for just
07:41 honesty of where you're at and passion and professionalism communication. It's like any
07:50 other relationship. We are working together to present the best possible you that we can to try
07:56 and get the best opportunities and it's all an investment with that cast and director whether
08:01 you book the job or not. If we've sent your best tape you've had your best meeting then we know
08:04 you're on the radar and then next time I call them I'm a bit further on in the process and it all
08:11 leads to the next job you know the next opportunity which is what we're trying to do.
08:16 It's just get you in front of casting directors producers directors that's it you know that that's
08:21 our job to get the opportunity. Your job is to do your best work and then hopefully we move through
08:26 the process. I love that. Thank you. Thank you. I'm going to ask one more question this over to you
08:32 guys. Okay so you guys are both amazing at finding and looking after like new talent right.
08:41 How do you know when an actor's got something special?
08:46 You're just born with it. Do you know what I mean? I can see talent within 10 seconds.
08:55 I watch self tapes the first five seconds I know where this talent is going but that's taken me 25
09:03 years so let's not think you know I woke up and I was able to do it. My career I started out in music
09:08 managing talent in music and then kind of worked my way to film and tv and sports as well.
09:15 Sports talent is extremely is very different. Film and tv I would say is probably the hardest
09:22 but I also know talent that's got something you've got to be able to decipher between talent that's
09:29 there's potential now there's talent that can grow into becoming great talent and then there's talent
09:39 that's got it right now so I'm able to do all three but that's taking me 25 years to do.
09:48 Yeah I think 10 seconds and I think cast and directors being brutally honest can spot it in
09:55 10 seconds as well so again using that knowledge for self tapes put all your your killer stuff at
10:03 the front no filler for your show reels for your voice reels it really is just showcasing you in
10:08 the best of your work but but yeah I think at the start of your career just do the fundamental
10:14 things just do the basic if you're asked to self tape specific things self tape what they're asking
10:20 you to self tape if they haven't asked you for a night then do not send a night then it's just
10:24 those little things right that you at the start of your career you gotta stick when you become
10:30 great you can do whatever you want right or I would say to talent at the beginning of your career
10:37 do the fundamentals it's like anything do you know what I mean and and take it seriously you know
10:43 before and always understand that we agents and casting want you to win always remember that
10:51 they want you to win if you win we win casting wins so nobody's trying to set you up to fail
10:59 or anything like that your teachers want you to do very well right so always remember that as well
11:05 that's quite key thank you thank you thank you any questions from the audience yes go for it
11:13 hi my name is Aime Priscilla and my question is you guys are saying a lot like you want your
11:22 like talent to be very active very proactive and determined and stuff but as agents how do you feel
11:29 about your client like finding their own work is it about communication or would you rather find the
11:35 work and just let them like do the self tapes thanks yeah so for me I can speak from my perspective
11:42 and our agency ethos but this is how I like to work yeah I think as much experience as you can
11:49 on set is golden whether it's a good experience or bad experience it's still experience you need
11:53 to get as used to you need to feel as comfortable as possible on set right and if you haven't been
12:00 on a film tv set before there's lots of things happening it's like walking into a little village
12:05 everyone's got their roles there's a lot of jargon terms getting shouted out and you want to feel as
12:11 comfortable as possible because you also have to be able to do your best work so yeah as much
12:15 experience during that process getting the self tape me and the cast director it you have to get
12:21 through a lot of yeses to actually book a job um and to hold your ground through that process so
12:27 yeah for me personally as much experience on set as possible because I can use that as well on the
12:32 phones and you will use that the second you step on set the second someone actually books you your
12:39 whole molecular structure is different you walk taller because you're like as much as I can say
12:44 my actors are great you then start to believe it and there's this different type of validation and
12:50 usually what happens is that rolls on you start to book more but you need to understand yes I can do
12:55 it just how it feels to actually like I say go through that process so yeah for me as much
13:00 experience as possible yeah I mean I think at the end of the day is a partnership right and you've
13:06 got to respect that so there's a lot of trust between yourself and your agent once you've signed
13:13 with an agent you've got to believe in what you've signed you've got to believe that your agent will
13:18 do the best they can to get you to where you need to get to right it's okay to network it's okay to
13:24 but do it as a partnership I particularly don't like it when I've signed talent and they're also
13:32 you can network and meet people but you've got to do it as a partnership and keep me informed
13:38 do you know what I mean because it's at the end of the day that's why people like Denzel have had
13:43 agents for 30 35 years because it's a it's a relationship you've got to treat it like that
13:50 amazing amazing another question um who is doing the mic yeah you guys choose
13:55 hello uh my name is Dorothea Darby hi Nina um I just wanted to ask you mentioned uh conduits
14:06 agents being like conduits to help get us where we want to get to but um in terms of being proactive
14:12 and stuff what other ways can we as actors be proactive to help you guys help us get us in the
14:19 rooms that we want to be seen in does that make sense yeah I think casting directors in the first
14:27 instance are gatekeepers for us both so as much knowledge you have on on them as much intel as
14:34 much understanding of how they work and they all work very individually so basically following
14:39 cast directors on socials good start understanding producers understanding who directors are just
14:46 knowing this market and and knowing the gatekeepers I think you could all be doing um that's one of
14:52 them socials any networking deal outside of that great spotlight has the monopoly in this country
14:58 um so all the other sites you could be on Mandy backstage star now there's a lot of
15:07 crap on there there's also some gems and again all an understanding of the like the process
15:13 um I think is useful and then just maintaining your craft is massively useful I know I've said
15:20 it before but when people say they can horse ride and they can't horse ride those sort of things are
15:25 really really tricky so everything you've put on your spotlight I use daily to try and get
15:32 meetings opportunities self-tapes so it's maintaining those skills um and seeing how
15:38 expansive and comprehensive you can be on those skills again we use everything so if you think of
15:44 bare burnt boiling point the like the resurgence of um the kitchen dramas going into those meetings
15:53 they were asking us for talent who have had hospitality experience barista experience
15:57 silver service if I know that that makes it much easier and that that knowledge can make me tip it
16:02 over for me to get a tape and that is what we're trying to do as many tapes as many meetings as
16:07 possible um to give you opportunities so all our information is is really useful for me so
16:14 creatively yes great to know if you can sing dance great to know combat but also life skills
16:19 is useful and as expansive as possible the swimmers on Netflix they asked us for who can swim who can
16:24 feel comfortable in water but specifically open water that sort of stuff you know we need to know
16:30 yeah I mean I think a lot of actors forget that um acting is about experience right
16:36 life experiences and a lot of you guys you leave that out of your resume you know what I mean if
16:42 you've worked part-time if you've you know when I was growing up I've done so many different jobs
16:47 right I've been a I've been a barber I've worked at a nightclub um you know all those things are
16:54 part of your skills it's not necessarily a horse riding RP no that that's those are things you can
17:01 be trained specifically for acting but there's stuff you do extracurricular stuff that you do
17:07 don't be you know don't be afraid to put that down um and and it's it's and that's quite key
17:13 yeah like call the midwife for instance asks us for anybody who's had caregiving experience any
17:18 basic CPR all of that sort of stuff um yeah really useful wow um yeah so you know that when I find
17:28 out stuff I find it so interesting yeah no you choose I'm not locking eyes with anyone
17:33 hi I'm Catherine um my question is what would you advise be to someone they've just finished
17:41 drama school um they haven't necessarily done like credits before you know in terms of booking
17:50 a job while doing um drama school so they've left drama school um and they're trying to figure out
17:58 where do I begin where do I start for looking for an agent because it's it's such a minefield
18:05 to someone who's so new to the field to try to work out okay I start here then I go on to the
18:12 next thing and then I go into the next thing even just even like getting on spotlight is
18:17 even a challenge in itself so if like you have got enough experience and study or or credit it's like
18:26 where would you give advice in terms of where to start for that person if that makes sense
18:34 yes so the question is where to start in terms of looking for an agent yeah research
18:41 what I always say to talent is you have to understand what it is you want out of this
18:48 for yourself that's the very first thing you need to do why are you doing this right um there's
18:54 you know if you if I break down in LA there's about there's 500 agents agencies not the top
19:03 top five right so that's there's about and I think daily there's about 250,000 roles that go out
19:10 but always remember the top five agents have first dibs and then all of those roles you know um
19:15 sorry there's 250,000 actors going for I think there's 450 roles I forgot the data and stuff
19:22 like that but I'm saying that to say before you even start looking for an agent you've got to
19:30 decide what it is you want out of this because there's a million of us out there there's the
19:34 pretenders you know back in the day when I lived in New York do you remember those days when the
19:39 fashion agents will ask you to pay they'll ask you to pay a thousand dollars bring your five by
19:46 eight and we'll do whatever whatever first of all never pay anybody to represent you
19:52 right if you do that you're setting yourself up so that's the first rule
19:59 um and then just research you can start by saying the top 50 agents in the UK um you sound
20:08 where are you from right so you could you could narrow it down to your you know local area right
20:17 um and and you know and just start with that you know but research have conversations network come
20:26 to things like this and meet people but don't what I'll do not put yourself under so much pressure
20:34 this is a marathon as Nina said right you're not going to be it's not going to happen tomorrow
20:42 it may do but it may not happen for another year right but if you put too much pressure on yourself
20:48 you probably choose the wrong agent you probably choose somebody that just wants to sign a lot and
20:53 you just become a number and then you'd be wondering why you're getting one self-tape every
20:57 six months right I would always say research research research know the industry the last
21:03 thing I'll say before I hand to Nina a lot of you guys don't understand the business of film
21:08 the business of acting you don't understand the business of the industry you're in you just
21:13 understand I want to act right you've got to understand the business you've got to learn
21:18 the business you've got to know how to you got to know marketing promotions PR social media you've
21:26 got to start understanding the business you want to put yourself in because then nobody can pull
21:31 the wool over your eye if you don't know the business I can say anything as an agent yeah
21:39 I'd even go as far as to say it would be good to have some experience or understanding of what
21:44 a producer does a director does and a casting director does like if you ever had work experience
21:49 in those offices or on those sets that would be useful congratulations on finishing drama school
21:56 well done I think what's most useful for an agent is some amazing headshots that are a true likeness
22:06 of you that can show emotional range but also age range so that would be a good start to have
22:14 a think about headshot photographers that you can connect with have a think about colors necklines
22:20 everything to make a great shot for yourself some material is also really useful for an agent so you
22:27 don't have to go and spend necessarily big money on a showreel but a strong banging self-tape that
22:34 shows your acting chops very useful a duo scene not a monologue is useful that's how casting directors
22:42 taking information they're never going to send out a self-tape request which is a monologue is always
22:47 going to be a partner they're looking for your natural reactions so to have a self-tape showing
22:51 that would be useful obviously not something too famous because just going to think about the
22:56 original scene the original actors also like fella said yeah research agencies research their ethos
23:06 have a look at who they represent have a look at if you can speak to or connect to any talent that
23:12 they represent you can see this on social some agencies also release their client list we don't
23:19 but some do if you can't see that you can also check the agent on imdb the agency and the agents
23:26 then you can see again the client list and you can see what sort of work they're doing and then
23:31 yeah speak to them speak to the client see what their day-to-day is like like see what their
23:35 communications like understand what you're looking for an agent and it is a partnership do not just
23:40 go and take the first agent that offers you representation because it's exciting and you
23:44 want to get rep it's not going to work that relationship so have a think about what you
23:49 want as well it's it's you both going into an equal partnership again never spending any money
23:56 ever to an agency that is a scam and you have to be careful about that and there are a lot of scams
24:01 out there for spotlight have a look at their entry criteria they've recently changed and kind of
24:07 export expanded their their quota so it is it's still a very guarded platform but it is easier
24:16 than it used to be to get in so have a look into that being self-represented on spotlight is still
24:22 better than not being on spotlight it's that powerful a platform so look at everything you can
24:28 do and then for you thinking about the skills that you possess is also really useful for an agent this
24:35 is all your USP that you're going to go into with the agent this is your ammunition that you're
24:40 going to speak to them with so have a think about what that looks like for you and then just
24:44 maintaining that USP those skills so that when you're having your meetings and you're sending
24:50 your emails you're presenting your best you possible because yeah first impressions in that
24:57 sense really matter again it's kind of 10 seconds you kind of tell if the if there's a connection
25:04 pretty pretty fast in those conversations. Wow yeah you guys have just poured like thank you
25:12 thank you I've got a question and then we still still want your questions but I just had a thought
25:19 in this day and age like where do you guys typically find new talent?
25:22 We're just a unique agency right we've got IDSA the school but you know Nina and I
25:30 because of my background I look for transitional talent if you're from music sports I'm always
25:38 looking for those kind of talent that want to transition into film and TV but talent every
25:43 we look everywhere to be honest you know I can be sitting here but I can tell people who got
25:50 something body language speaks a lot do you know what I mean always remember to be on your best
25:56 no matter how you're feeling because you just never know so I'm always looking for talent
26:02 everywhere I may not sign talent all the time and just to add to what Nina was saying I don't put
26:10 who I represent anywhere but that's not because I'm being secretive I just don't think I need to
26:16 you know what I mean if you want to have a conversation you can always reach out
26:21 but keep the emails short because I do receive some air we do receive some essays we do receive
26:28 some essays don't tell me your life history be very direct my name is X I've done this
26:35 I'd like you to rep me all right with the direct thing I had a representation email
26:41 last week and on the CV it said I am good at talking to friendly pets like and um she signed
26:54 him you're in so yeah it really is like I was saying knowing did you actually sign him no no
27:01 I didn't no no no but but you know it was it was fun to receive um yeah I think you I think you've
27:08 got to be you got to be relevant but we get talent yes so being honest we probably get 10 to 15 well
27:14 yeah we get 10 to 15 email requests every day all of us across the agency we also get a lot of inbound
27:21 coming to our open email address casting at I get dms I get every single platform possible
27:29 in the street on the train coming everywhere and we're scouting everywhere as well so you know it
27:36 must be said right Nina and I work for the same agency but we actually work in a very different
27:41 way do you know what I mean she's extremely more open than I am true um you know but I just work
27:49 a certain way do you know what I mean I think it's important for you guys to know that agents are very
27:54 different yeah we're not all the same but the objective is always the same our methods are very
28:01 very different do you know what I mean I think it's because of a modeling background she gets
28:08 a lot of that so we capitalize on that my music background or sports background we capitalize
28:13 you you just got to know what your strengths are um and um but one thing I always say and I'll say
28:19 it here you know don't approach me with a five by eight and that's not me being rude I'm not I'm
28:26 not coming here to look for talent I'm coming here to share knowledge do you know what I mean um
28:32 but I will say you know my name so finding me on Instagram is very easy so approaching me that way
28:40 it's also cool but there's a time and a place for everything and I have to say that so that there's
28:46 no awkward interaction you know and that's just me I mean I keep it I keep it 100 you know that's
28:54 what you get from me as an agent as well I keep it 100 with you if your self-tape is whack I'll
29:01 tell you you know what I mean because there's no point me sugarcoating because you need to be
29:06 ready for that cold world Demi knows what I'm talking about because he sees actors every day
29:12 he knows that's why he's laughing I love that um fella sorry we are going to come to you guys but
29:19 you said something so interesting right which I haven't really I haven't heard from an agent
29:24 you said keep the email short which I which to be fair we do here but then you gave like three
29:31 points right and I guess what I'm thinking is that doesn't feel personable right but it sounds like
29:39 you don't mind no so there's a there's a reason right I come from a very before this life I was
29:47 in the corporate world for about 10 years after law school I worked in the corporate world at
29:52 very high level so I was extremely used to long-winded emails and all they wanted to say
29:58 fellas are you available for lunch but you know what I mean good afternoon fella how are you
30:04 my name you don't know I mean that's long I like things to be I can tell by you sending me
30:09 a very very short sharp email that tells me you know exactly what you want out of me that's all
30:17 I ask you to do right the other stuff if we get to a point where we send one-on-one and we're
30:23 gonna have a meeting I'll get to know the other stuff that's just how I work I just want to know
30:26 who you are where you're from what you're looking for and what you want from me right the other
30:34 stuff some agents like the long history and I've done this I did cabaret and I did this I don't
30:41 need to know that that's just me right I'm saying all this to show you that we are very different
30:46 we're not agents we're not one in the same you know some people like the long conversations
30:51 I just like because of the amount we receive my days are extremely our days are long
30:58 Jeremy I have to drag her out the office most times Nina can be at the office till 10 11 at
31:05 night because our days are long so you if you think you know the amount of talent we rep
31:10 and having to give each one personal treatment your days get extended if you didn't have to
31:18 deal with long emails phone calls and all of that stuff then you know it makes the job no longer fun
31:26 right and hence why I just prefer short sharp communication on my whatsapp it says short sharp
31:33 comms it says it even my family they all know
31:39 fella's got an out of office on his whatsapp that's how seriously he takes it
31:46 I love that um so going off of what fella said right Nina are you are you similar I think
31:55 what an agent really needs to see is a headshot I if you have a spotlight link a spotlight link
32:01 and if you want you could put in what you've been up to but again like a like a self-tape we can see
32:12 immediately what's going on for the long email if you wanted to list off your history we can
32:18 also see that through a showreel and your cv so there's no actual need to kind of duplicate the
32:23 information but yeah we can see it instantly if there are no credits I look after developmental
32:28 talent I'm very used to working people who have no credits and you just have a headshot and that's
32:32 what I'm working with um so if you don't have credits you can't lie you know we can only work
32:36 with where we're at so it's fine but what yeah what we need to see is a headshot a bit about you
32:42 and a link to any work that that is it we can make decisions if there's any interest and where to
32:47 move forward from that can I just say caveat right the short sharp emails the other stuff I I know you
32:53 should have if you're in this world you'd have a headshot you'd have your showreel all of that
32:59 stuff so that's what I'm saying that you know that the email is short on the showreel I think the
33:06 world has moved has changed a little bit right the days of getting your friend to shoot you with some
33:12 funky showreel and you acting those days are gone if you have credits use them if you went to drama
33:19 school use kind of footage from there I don't think I ask my talent to hide their showreels on
33:26 on on um on no Nina doesn't don't worry about that um because sometimes I think it gives it
33:35 doesn't give proper representation of you as a talent if it's showreel that's not based on
33:42 credits if it's you know the days when talent would um put together showreels based on made
33:51 up scenes and those kind of things it's just too competitive for that nowadays amazing amazing yes
33:59 questions from the audience um yeah no I'm not choosing yep you choose
34:04 hi my name is Tommy um I had a question about how an actor let me say a new client that has
34:15 a reading or something can add to help you guys show we have green light power so um some people
34:22 would have done projects and you know okay they can get a project done or a movie shot but if
34:27 they're new how do they prove that we can do it and they just have the talent or just the skill
34:33 a great self-tape because you're not going to have any credits so what we need to see is a headshot
34:41 a great self-tape and if you can accents ideally us accent what we deal with what I deal with daily
34:50 is own accent London or neutral southern accent and a us a general us the majority of the talent
34:58 that come to me do not have any credits so the for the first jobs that they're the first time
35:05 they're on set are the first jobs that we're booking these are the first times they've got
35:08 self-tape so it doesn't bother me or deter me at all it's a headshot and and that you can act
35:15 that's you know that's what I need to see yeah yeah and you know that's the other unique thing
35:21 about IEG is we have a developmental side to the agency so we do understand that you don't have any
35:27 credit um will help you as agents to understand what you need in terms of your self-tape and we
35:36 take a risk you know we can see talent we think you've got something um all I have asked talent
35:42 is to continue to believe in yourself do you know what I mean it's it's it's a hard career you've
35:48 chosen but commit to it and anyone who's auditioning later you hear me say this commit casting want to
35:57 see you commit directors want to see so if you get to believe in yourself from an early early
36:03 standpoint in terms of your career and you start committing to a good self-tape good headshot etc
36:08 etc then we will do our best to get you seen right and just keep going just keep going that's what I'll say
36:18 next question thank you thank you
36:22 hi my name is Norea um my question to you guys is do you guys represent international actors
36:37 that are not based in you in the UK um who don't have the paperwork very important that I mention
36:45 this um because I are you okay I'm trying to breed um yeah yeah that's my question
36:56 so you're from where you don't need the mic you can project
37:07 okay you're dutch right no we don't really rep uh paperwork is a tricky thing so um
37:15 no we don't for just for your understanding for um for global projects to even get the self-tape
37:25 they're going to ask us about working rights to go into those conversations we have to talk about
37:31 the dates that our talent's clear what rights they have do they have a valid passport even for
37:36 commercials we have to show passports that have been that have validity for at least six months
37:42 and what type of passport that is to even apply for the commercial um so production need the
37:47 working rights to be able to book you on the job for our british talent working on us projects if
37:54 it's a lead role we can get you visas production get you visas but it's it's based on the level of
38:02 role um so it's going to come down to working rights which is it's a production thing not us
38:08 it's legally what they need it's like any employer they need to show the rights to work so
38:12 we rep talent across the world we rep talent with various different passports very different
38:18 working rights various different visas but you do need the rights to work in one of the territories
38:24 uk or the us or the ability to get a visa to be able to do that they're going to ask us
38:31 in the first instance
38:32 so something to look into
38:36 thank you for that insight thank you thank you yeah let's have some some questions from over here
38:44 yeah hello how you doing i'm jonathan by the way um i just wanted to ask you said um fellow
38:53 what do you want out of um the industry and what do you want um specifically for actors who like
38:59 are trying to get hired and want um all of these um things about um your accent and all of the um
39:06 and you may you may not have experience in accents and all of um all of that how would you go about
39:13 basically training yourself to tick every box basically if you was to give a checklist of
39:18 what you would want your talent to have what would it be like a fast truck test list even
39:24 though it's a marathon like what would you want your actors to have so that they're ready to go
39:31 on set and smash it that's why i'm asking you know for me first of all one thing at a different
39:41 that's time to feed the dogs
39:49 um you know at different levels i want different things at the developmental stage i know that
39:58 you're just starting out so all i really want at that stage is confidence the ability to self-tape
40:04 and understanding within yourself of who you are and what you want out of this and the desire
40:15 it's a key word right you're gonna have the desire to want to do this you know what i mean i sit with
40:21 a lot of talent um and i can tell if this is just a pipe dream you know what i mean you've really
40:30 got to be able to say to yourself and sit in front of not just me any agent and convince and be
40:37 convincing so confidence is very key training you will get it at the you know we know you will get
40:43 trained as time goes on but for me initially all i want to see is of course i want to see that you
40:49 you've got the you've got the initial potential right and i can see that immediately because
40:56 to even get in front of us will ask you to read for us either you come to the agency or you do
41:02 a self-tape or we do it over zoom or something like that but fundamentally for me as talking
41:09 about me as an agent i confidence is key and understanding the way you want to get to that's
41:14 just how i work if i can see that you understand where you want to get to it makes my job very easy
41:20 the other stuff at the beginning we can do if you're a mid-stage talent and i need you to have
41:26 take the accent box you know maybe some other i repped the talent in the states many years ago
41:34 who could handle every gun you could think of right he right down to the ak-47 and i'm not lying
41:42 but that was something he was interested in right um which was a bit spooky initially
41:48 you know what i mean but that's to me that's something quite unique right um but and then
41:57 at the top level of course is the professionalism all through actually professionalism i would say
42:03 to students you need to be professional from now so anyone that's auditioning later be ready
42:10 because if you're not professional you're leaving that room and i ain't messing around yeah
42:15 no i think it's a good point and i think you need to know what you want to do so if you're coming to
42:22 us saying i want to be in game of thrones house of dragon i want to do these mythical things then
42:28 horse riding is going to come up swords is going to come up combat is going to come up if for wheel
42:34 of time for those shows to get the takes we have to show action reels and they're coming to us for
42:40 actors who have some sort of understanding or interest or passion and physicality so when this
42:45 guy can do all this with the guns it's about can you hold a gun or a sword and look like it's
42:51 something that you are interested in there are some people who do not want to work with weapons
42:55 some people do not want to work with animals some people do not want to work with children if that
42:59 is something you want to do if you do want to be in action if you do want to work in like the mythical
43:03 sphere then yeah horse riding swords is all going to come up they are not looking for professional
43:11 stunt performers that is a special performer and that goes through a different um network and you
43:17 have to have a different accreditation they're coming to us for actors who have some sort of
43:21 passion about physicality so all we need to be able to show is that first of all if it's horse
43:26 riding not allergic to horses and second of all you have some sort of understanding physicality
43:31 so for me just um a clip of you in a studio doing some boxing you on a bike you running all of that
43:39 i can go and take to all the time casting directors and say this person is physical
43:43 if you then get the job they will put you on a horse training camp they'll put you on swords
43:49 they'll do all of that before you go on to set so it's just understanding of what you want to do
43:53 so when you're saying what boxes do we need to check the basics we need a headshot and we need
43:58 a variety of headshots to show age range and emotional range male presenting humans if you're
44:04 looking to play down you need to shave we need to be able to show you can play to the youngest of
44:09 your ability and to the eldest of your ability um everybody can do different hair looks everybody
44:15 can think about different necklines everything about different body postures it's going to show
44:18 age range and emotional range we need a great self-tape if you've got spotlight we need a
44:24 spotlight link if you want to work on a variety of projects accents there are lots of our talent
44:31 filming in the states but there are us productions like jack ryan jack reacher they film here
44:37 everybody you see on jack ryan are using their it's british talent using their american accents
44:44 bar the leads that is british talent that's how flawless the us accent has to be so all of these
44:51 things give us ammunition to go and have these conversations so for me that's the checklist
44:56 the headshot spotlight link if you have it um and a show reel and then for you and understanding what
45:01 you want to get into i.e if it's marvel and action show us that you can be physical if it's bridgerton
45:07 you need to tell us that you're not allergic to horses and you've got some understanding of how
45:11 to like you've seen a horse before that helps us um yeah and that's it so it's coming from you
45:18 really i'm taking your lead the talent sorry just a quick quick quick one to all you west africans
45:24 here how many west africans here right okay let me tell you something right what i'm
45:34 when you're asked to do a generic west african accent a lot of people fail
45:40 which is embarrassing which is embarrassing for me because i'm nigerian right so that's what i
45:47 mean about just understanding these things do you know what i mean the southern africa is even harder
45:54 but i'm looking at my nigerian ghanian i'm like what accent is this and this this this is a real
46:02 example you know james samuels pins and needles the biblical epic that's happening right now they
46:07 called us and asked us for west african accented english send us your voice reels that's another
46:12 thing as well voice reels if you can't do it don't do it if you can then send us your best stuff and
46:17 we have people on that production from voice rolls alone but good good accents yeah you actually you
46:25 know i think being nigerian that my nigerian accent is okay right but studios and producers
46:34 may have a different idea you know what i mean so you have to learn it from that perspective
46:40 not the one you and your friends chop it up with do you know what i mean you know it's really
46:45 listen it's it's it sounds funny but i just want you guys to understand what this industry is
46:51 really about do you know what i mean it's it's it's key that you study what you're entering into
46:59 do you know what i mean conversations like this are useful and you know before i forget i really
47:06 just want to thank pierre for having us and thank the team because i think these these conversations
47:12 are very important