Finding Acting Agents:
The Cost Of Mailings

Going back to the the 12-Step Process that teaches you how to contact acting agents, let's say that in order for you to do that, you will have to get professional headshots that cost $300 just for the photo session plus another $95 for the printing of 200 photos. Then you spend another $100 for a coach to teach you how to write your cover letter and put together your professional actor résumé that are in line with the way the industry wants to see them. Then let’s say to have a good chance of getting an agent, you will have to send out 150 packages with your head shot, résumé and cover letter to different agents in Los Angeles. To do that you will have to buy 150 large envelopes that cost $.50, each which comes to $75. We’ll also say that photocopies of all the materials you mail to acting agents will cost you $.10 each x 150 for each résumé and the same number of cover letters, which comes to $30. You’ll need mailing labels with the names and addresses of the acting agents to whom you want to send your materials unless you want to write each one out individually which not only will take for ever, but it is also something I wouldn’t recommend. Mailing labels that you can buy will cost you, let’s say, another $15 - $30 or so. Thinking realistically, you will most likely not hear back from the agents after your first mailing so you will have to have post cards with your headshot on them to send out in follow-up mailings every 4-6 weeks as a reminder for them to contact you. 600 post cards (allowing for three to four follow-up mailings) could cost in the neighborhood of $250. Lastly, you’ll need postage stamps, which could be around $.60 for the first mailings and $.30 for post cards if mailing to U.S. talent agents from within the continental U.S. That comes to total of $225 just for postage.

All total, just to use this method to try and get an agent you will spend approximately $1,330 in this realistic example depending on where you get the headshots taken, the quality of the prints, what kind of envelopes you get and so forth. In addition, from the time you actually make your appointment to get the headshots taken, review the proofs, select your pictures, get prints, buy all your mailing materials, put together 150 packages and actually mail them, this whole process of finding an agent to represent you, might take you several months or longer.

And we’re not finished yet. Of course you will have a better chance of getting the attention of acting agents if you have at the very least, some training under your belt, which means time and money for acting classes too, before you start the mailings. So we’ll have to add six months to a year on to the several months of the getting an agent process. (Of course this is all to do if you want to increase your chances of getting an agent.)

To put more meat on this very real example, once you have been contacted by the acting agents you have mailed to, you will have to be prepared and have at least two to three monologues ready to perform for them upon request. You might have to have someone help you choose them, coach you on how to best perform them and you will also have to prepare yourself for the agent interview so that you make a good impression and answer the questions in the right way.

So, as you can see that’s a lot of stuff to do, just to get an agent and that’s only a small part of what it takes to start an acting career. While it’s true there are other ways to get an agent, this is a real example of the method many new and aspiring actors use, especially if they have little or no experience.There are other ways that have a better chance of working if you have some experience as an actor, but that’s not the point here.

The point is, if one of the things on your list of Key Factors For Success was contacting acting agents, the question is: “Would you be willing to do all that and spend that much time and money to do it?” That’s what I mean when I asked the question: “What are you willing to do to have the kind of acting career you want?”

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What you’re doing is great Anthony. Whenever I read the things on your site, the interviews and even your book, I feel like if only everybody got to read this before they got started, they would be so much better off and everybody else (casting directors, agents, directors, etc.) would be so much better off too.
Personal Manager, Ingrid French

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Tony,
I want to say you changed my life. I want to be an actress so bad, but i began losing motivation when I couldn't figure out what to do. And then I found you! Thanks to you, I'm taking my first acting classes next month! Yippee!
Sara, Pasadena, CA

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Hi Tony
I would like to thank you for helping me with the monologue question I asked you. I went to the auditions for a Drama course and I am happy to say that I have been accepted as a first-year student at the Tshwane University of Technology. Please keep on sending me those newsletters and let me know where I can find books that will help me in my acting career. Thank you once more. Have a blessed day.
Sincerely
Edward Thaba -South Africa

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Dear Anthony,
Just wanted to thank you for bringing me in to [audition for the video], meet you and chat this Saturday. I was really excited to hear about your working on actingcareerstartup.com and even took a look at it today - it's awesome! You are very well-spoken, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and it shows through the work that you do! I hope our paths in the industry will cross again and really enjoyed meeting you. Thanks, again and best wishes with your very important work!
Warmly,
Gretchen, NY, NY

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Hey Tony, thanks for the info, yours by far is the most useful, I am 30 years old, and I myself always (secretly) wanted to be an actress, but I never knew where to begin, so thank you. You have given me hope!
Ana C., Tampa, FL