What Does a Talent Agent Do?

A talent agent finds the roles their clients are right for, submits and pitches them to casting, then negotiates the deal and handles the booking when they land the job. They are paid commission only when you are paid. We asked 25 casting directors whether they watch tapes agents send them unasked, and drew on Kym Jackson, Chris Roe and Shaan Sharma for how an agency works day to day.

What is a talent agent's job?

Two things: get you in the room, and close the deal. SAG-AFTRA's agent FAQ puts it simply: agents negotiate and service employment contracts, while managers are meant to handle career direction. Kym Jackson describes an agent as someone who watches everything casting in their field, chooses which clients to submit for each role, and then follows up with a pitch.

Kym is clear about where the agent's job ends. If they are getting you auditions, they are doing their job; booking the role is yours. In her experience 20 to 40 auditions for each booking is normal.

What does a talent agent do all day?

Read breakdowns and submit. Gary Marsh, from our Breakdown Services Q&A, explains that agents and managers pay a monthly fee for Breakdown Express, where casting posts professional roles, while actors handle their own Actors Access accounts. Many breakdowns are never shared with actors at all, which is a big part of what an agent brings.

Much of the clicking is done by assistants. Kym explains that an assistant often submits every client who matches a role's basic details, such as age, gender and ethnicity, while the agent picks who to actively push. Chris Roe works the same way: everyone who fits gets submitted, because he can't phone casting about 15 or 20 clients a day.

What's the difference between a submission and a pitch?

A submission is a click that puts your headshot in the pile. Kym says a single role can draw anywhere from 800 to 2,000 submissions. A pitch is when your agent emails or calls casting to say you have to see this actor.

Chris Roe told us what goes into his pitches: the client's skills that fit the role (a veteran for a veteran role, for example), their credits, and why they're worth two minutes of casting's time. He only emails a pitch on top of the electronic submission when he has a relationship with the office and really wants the client in, because casting directors are buried in email.

Do casting directors listen when agents pitch?

Mostly, yes. We asked 25 casting directors whether they watch self-tapes that agents or actors send without being asked. Nineteen said yes or usually. Five said rarely or mostly not, and Greg Apps gives a tape about five seconds to show him where he could cast you.

The caveats matter. Ricki Maslar welcomes tapes from agents because they know what she is looking for and are careful what they send. Kahleen Crawford will often agree to see someone after a great pitch, but is irritated when a tape simply arrives. Meg Morman only considers one when it comes from a rep she really trusts. Josh Einsohn said a couple of unasked-for tapes have led to a callback or even the part.

What does an agent do after your audition?

Sometimes a little nudge. Chris Roe told us a rep can drop new information to casting after you read, like a recent run of episodes on a big show, or confirm a skill that came up in the room. Casting also calls reps with feedback, and not always good: he recalled a client a casting director never brought in again after they arrived looking nothing like the role.

Kym is realistic. Once you've auditioned, there is only so much an agent can do, and 99% of the time they have no access to the filmmakers who make the final call.

How does an agent negotiate and book the job?

This is where an agent earns their keep. Kym calls the agent your "bad cop": they push back on the terms so you don't have to. She adds that agents often negotiate an extra 10% on top of your fee to cover their commission. SAG-AFTRA's FAQ calls this "scale plus 10%".

Put jobs you book yourself through your agent too, Kym says, so someone negotiates the deal properly. Ben Whitehair adds that the terms should be settled before you arrive on set; if the paperwork there looks wrong, call your agent before you sign. Commission itself is capped for franchised agents at 10%; our page on how much agents take explains the details.

What doesn't a talent agent do?

• Career strategy. Kym says hair colour, branding and where your career is heading are manager conversations; with an agent, keep it short and factual. See talent agent vs manager.
• Charge you to join. SAG-AFTRA says franchised agents may not charge up-front fees of any kind, as of November 2026.
• Take every job going. Pete Malicki has seen agents turn down a low fee for a client to keep them free for bigger work. Most are reasonable, he says, but talk it through.

What kinds of talent agents are there?

Agents usually cover one field in one region: theatrical (in the US, that means film and TV), commercial, voice, print and more. Kym says US agencies that do both commercial and theatrical keep them as separate departments. Shaan Sharma's commercial agency has three commercial agents, each servicing different casting offices, and a separate theatrical team. Our guide to commercial vs theatrical agents compares them.

How do you help your agent help you?

Give them something to sell. Blair Hickey and Brian Wold quote an old maxim: agents get 10%, so they do about 10% of the work. You do the rest by building casting relationships and keeping your tools current, including your Actors Access resume. Then tell your agent what's new. Kym suggests a short update every two or three weeks, such as the casting directors you met.

Only flag a breakdown when you bring something specific, like a relationship with the casting director or a rare skill. For booking out, Shaan Sharma emails his agents and their assistant so everyone knows.

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