Expert: Phil Nemy - 2/6/2007

Question
I have a 4 year old daughter who has been involved in live theatre for about 1 year.  I would like to explore branching out to tv/print/film.  I met with an agency today that requires headshots and wants to sign her on with a 1 year exclusive contract.  The research I've done says headshots are not required for kids to be successful and that I should never sign exclusive contracts.  Who's right?

Answer
Pam,

Thanks for writing. I don't know where you obtained your research, so I can't speak to that.

What I can say is that it has been my experience that ALL actors that can walk and talk that wish to pursue a career in acting MUST have a headshot. The headshot is submitted by the agent to casting directors for roles that the actor may be right for. If the casting director is unfamilar with the actor's work and has never seen the actor before, how would the casting director know if the actor has the right look for the project? They use the headshot to make this first determination.

As the actor obtains experience, actors often put together a 3-5 minute demo reel of some of their work, i.e. samples of the films, TV shows and commercials in which the actor has appeared. This allows the casting director the opportunity to see the actor at work and determine if they have "the right stuff" for the role.

As far as contracts with agents are concerned, all agencies that are franchised with the Screen Actors Guild, the union representing actors in film and TV, offer contracts to their clients. The contracts are usually for a one year term but it is not uncommon for one to have a longer term. The key clause for an actor in the contract is what is referred to as "the out clause" or the clause which allows an actor to terminate representation. Generally, this clause provides for an actor to give a 30-day notice of termination of the agreement for ANY REASON provided that the agent has had a minimun of 6 consecutive months in which to represent the actor.

Finally, agents may only, by law, take 10% of the income generated from acting by the client.

If the agent wishing to represent you IS NOT on the Franchised Agency List provided by the Screen Actors Guild, then you might wish to find another agency. If they are on the list, then they have agreed, in writing, to certain business guidelines that SAG requires for them to represent their members.

In addition, if the agent's contract does not give you an out clause, insist upon it as a precaution to allow you to move on in case you're not happy withy the agent's performance.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Phil