Expert: Kitty Kavey - 4/3/2008

Question
Any links or info on legit casting calls or casting agents???

Answer
The best casting calls come through a talent agent or talent manager via the (non-public) Breakdown Services.  A smaller public version of the Breakdowns is available via ActorsAccess.com.  NowCasting.com is another publicly available casting service, although again, the best castings are through an agent/manager.

The Screen Actors Guild has a terrific list of legit talent/model agents (www.SAG.org, under Member Services, Find an Agent), and the ATA has a list of talent agents as well: www.agentassociation.com, under Find an Agent.

For casting directors, the CSA (www.castingsociety.com) under Find a CD has a list where you can search for CDs by location, by episodic show, or, less effectively, by a resume keyword.

Alternatively, if you're looking for film casting directors, the Internet Movie Database (www.IMDB.com) will give you the names of casting directors for both films and television shows, and so long as you have the name of the person, it is likely that their contact information is on the CSA website (assuming they are US-based.)

There are other services, associations and websites as well for other areas, as well as book publications that list talent agents, talent managers, and casting directors too.

Good luck to you,
~Kitty