In the course of an actor’s life he is going to meet a lot of people. Many of these people will have a direct or indirect effect on his career. Some, more so than others.
Probably the person who will have the biggest effect on the career of an actor is his agent. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, agents are impossible to live without. By definition an agent is someone who finds work for an actor at a fee of about 10 to 15% of whatever he earns for that job. But an agent is much more than that in reality. An agent is the actor’s mouthpiece. He’s the one who tries to display the actor in the best possible light through his own charm. Agents have to be very good talkers and have personalities that are easy to get along with. As an agent they will have an extensive list of contacts from producers to directors. They use this list to get an actor every chance that they possibly can. And then after the actor gets the job the agent works on the terms of ther contract to make sure that he gets the best deal possible. A good agent will have the actor’s best interests at heart, knowing that the better the deal he makes, the better he makes out as well.
Then there is the casting director. This person can make or break an actor’s career. If an actor can’t get past the casting director he has no chance. Casting directors are specifically hired to find talent for the movie, show or play, whichever the case may be. This is the agent’s first line of contact. These are the people the agent sends photos and resum