Talent Agency Mail:
Does Someone Actually Look At Your Headshot?

Before reading below about happens to your mail that comes into a Talent Agency or,in this case a personal manager’s office, have a look at part 7 of this interview in which Ingrid talks about what the difference is in the auditions you can get from an agent and from a casting website. Here is Part 8 of My Interview with Personal Manager Ingrid French

Tony: How much mail do you get coming into your office?

Ingrid: I probably get a couple hundred headshots and actor cover letters per week.

Tony: And what happens to the mail you receive or to mail that comes into any talent agency?

Ingrid: I’m sure it’s different in every talent agency and personal manager’s office, but in my office I have one of my assistants sort the mail. The way I sort it is that anyone who is referred by someone I know, whether it be a casting director, another industry professional or maybe an actor I work with goes in one pile and all the rest go in another pile. Then I go through the referred pile first.

A referral could be from a casting director for example who has worked with an actor and thinks that I should take a look at him/her for representation. It could be an acting teacher or a director or producer who worked with an actor on a film.

Tony: What percentage of all the mail you receive is by referral?

Ingrid: I would say around 60% comes from people who have been referred by someone I know.

Tony: How long can an actor expect it to take from the time he/she sends in a headshot and letter to you before they can expect to be contacted by your office and possibly be called in for an interview?

Ingrid: It really depends. I usually say about 4 – 6 weeks before you will hear anything after mailing something into my office. There are those rare occasions when I am going through the mail one day, maybe after it’s just come in. My assistant knows that maybe we have been looking for a specific type for a while now and she hands me a picture that has just come in and says: “Hey what do you think about this?” And maybe that actor also happened to be referred to me by someone I know. and I might just call that person the same day their mail came into the office. That doesn’t happen very often, but it is possible.

Tony: I think I know the answer to this question, but I’ll ask you anyway. Do you answer everyone who writes to your office whether you intend to call them in to see you or not?

Ingrid: No, unfortunately that’s not possible. I don’t know of any talent agency or casting office who answers all their mail. When you get that much mail coming into your office, you would spend most of your time just sorting and answering mail.

End of part 8.

If you want to find out what a talent agency does and what issues agencies in general might be facing at the moment, just look it up.,.

In part 9 of this interview with Ingrid French I asked her to talk about what the chronological sequence of events is in the talent casting process from the time the actor is submitted for a job up until the actor actually gets the job. She does a nice job of taking us through all the steps. So stay tuned!

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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