# How to Email an Agent: A Short Template, Line by Line > A short, copyable agent email for actors: what goes in the subject, the referral, the recent credit, your type, and the links, what to cut, how to follow each agency's own submission rules, and when to follow up. - URL: https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-email-an-agent - Published: 2026-11-06 - Last updated: 2026-11-06 You've found the agency. Their clients work at your level, they book the kind of roles you go out for, and there's an email address on the website. You open a new message and start typing "Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to express my interest in representation..." Three paragraphs later you're describing the school play that made you want to act. Stop there. The agent who opens that email is busy. Nobody is going to read your life story to find the one credit that matters. The short version: read the agency's submission rules first and follow them exactly. If they take email, write a few short lines: a subject that says who you are and why now, the agent's name, a real referral if you have one, your best recent credit, your type and what you're looking for, one invitation (a show or your reel), and working links. Leave out the biography, the dreams, and the big files. Then wait a few weeks and follow up once, ideally with news. ## Read the agency's rules before you write a word Every agency decides how it wants to be approached, and many say so on a page called "submissions" or "representation." Kenneth Avery-Clark's advice on the International College of Musical Theatre's blog starts here: [check the agent's website](https://theicmt.com/tips-for-aspiring-actors-tip-1) to see whether they're taking new clients at all, and how they like to be contacted. The rules really do differ. Collier Talent Agency in Austin takes new clients by referral only, with materials sent by mail, and its [FAQ](https://www.colliertalent.com/faq) is blunt about the inbox: "Email/electronic submissions will not be reviewed." The same page asks you to allow at least 30 days and not to call to follow up. Gray Talent Group in Chicago works the other way. Its [submission page](https://graytalentgroup.com/submission/) prefers electronic submissions, wants your résumé and cover letter as PDFs, and will only review an electronic submission that includes an audition video of no more than two minutes, sent as a link: "Please do not send any videos that require a download." It also says that if it wants a meeting, it will reach out within two weeks of getting your materials. So the first rule of the agent email is that sometimes there isn't one. If the page says mail, mail. If it says use the form, use the form and put your note in the cover letter box. If it names a subject line, use those words exactly. Breaking a posted rule tells the agent you didn't read the page. ## The template When the agency does take email and gives no other instructions, this is the whole thing. Copy it, replace every bracket, and delete any line you can't fill honestly. > Subject: [Your name], [type, e.g. "30s character actor"], [city]: [the reason now, e.g. "referred by [name]" or "now playing [role] at [theater]"] > > Hi [agent's first name], > > [Referrer's name], who [how they know the agent], suggested I get in touch. I'm a [city]-based actor, and I've just [best recent credit: role, show, theater or director]. > > I'm [union status], looking for [theatrical / commercial / both] representation. I usually go out for [two or three honest role types], and I think I'd sit well alongside [a client or two of theirs at your level, if you can say it truthfully]. [One invitation: "I'm in [show] through [date] and would be glad to leave you a ticket," or "My reel is below."] > > Headshot and résumé: [link] > Reel or clips: [link] > Casting profile: [link] > > Thank you for your time, > [Full name] > [Phone] | [email] That's about 100 words before the links. It reads in under a minute, and every line gives the agent a reason to click. ## What goes in each line ### The subject line The subject is the only line you're sure the agent will see. A guide to [finding and signing an agent](https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/the-essentials/finding-and-signing-an-agent/) from a UK casting directory calls it your first interaction with an agent and says to use it for your unique selling point. "Seeking representation" alone tells them nothing they didn't already guess. Lead with your name and type so they can place you, then add the strongest true reason to open it now: a referral, a show you're currently in, a new reel, a recent booking. If none of those exist yet, name and type is enough. Never invent urgency. ### The greeting and the referral Use the agent's name, spelled right, and pick the agent at the agency who handles your area. Writing to every agent in the same office, especially with the same email, is one of the mistakes Tom Lorcan lists in his [guide for graduates seeking an agent](https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/the-essentials/agent-advice-for-graduates/). A real referral goes first, because it's the strongest thing you have. A fake one is the fastest way to be deleted. Avery-Clark warns actors never to use a false recommendation, because agents will check. If someone has agreed to vouch for you, ask them to send a note of their own as well, so the agent hears it from both sides. No referral? Say briefly why you chose this agency. The casting directory's guide suggests mentioning a client of theirs whose work you admire. One specific sentence shows you did your homework. ### The recent credit One credit, not five. Pick the newest or the strongest, whichever an agent would recognize faster: a role at a known theater, a featured part in a film that's playing festivals, a director with a name. Avery-Clark suggests mentioning any production you've just finished and any reviews it got. Your résumé holds the rest. If you're starting out, the credit can be training: the program you just finished, a showcase, a class with a teacher the agent will know. Our guide on [how to get an acting agent with no experience](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-get-acting-agent-no-experience) covers what counts when your résumé is short. ### Your type and what you're looking for Tell them what kind of work you want and what you'll realistically book. Theatrical or commercial, your city, your union status, and two or three role types you're genuinely cast in. This saves the agent guessing whether you fit a gap on their list. If you're not sure whether you need an agent or a manager first, settle that before you write. The difference changes who you email and what you ask for, and it's covered in [agent vs. manager for actors](https://www.offbook.com/blog/agent-vs-manager-for-actors). ### The invitation and the links End with one thing the agent can do: see you in a show, watch a reel, or meet. Lorcan's graduate guide puts "what you want" among the four things every approach should cover, and gives inviting the agent to a show as the example. If you have no reel yet, Collier's FAQ asks you to say in your cover letter where they might see your work. That's good advice for any agency. Then the links, each labeled. Send the actual address of your casting profile, not a view PIN, as the casting directory's guide points out. Talent agent Oliver Campbell's advice in [ten tips for actors](https://justaddmilkjam.com/news/top-10-tips-from-a-talent-acting-agent) is to "double check (then triple check)" that your profile and reel links work. Agents rarely sign anyone on the letter alone, so a dead link wastes the whole email. ## What to leave out Most of what pads an actor's cover letter can go. Each of these costs the agent time and earns you nothing: - Your life story. Lorcan's list of don'ts includes telling agents your hopes, dreams, and life story. - Apologies for being new. "I know I don't have much experience, but..." argues against yourself in your own email. - Big files. Avery-Clark advises against attaching large high-resolution photos or video files, which take up space and can be hard to open. - Claims you can't back up. "I'm a natural," "I can play anything," or a referral the person never agreed to. - A template that still shows. Lorcan also warns against copying and pasting the same email everywhere. Change the name, the reason, and the client you mention for every agency. One last thing that isn't a word count: timing. Sending at 3am is on Lorcan's list of don'ts too. Write it at night if you like, then schedule it for a weekday morning. ## Attachments or links: which to send There's no single rule, which is why the submissions page comes first. Gray Talent Group wants PDFs and a video link. Collier wants paper. The casting directory's guide suggests attaching one clean, properly formatted headshot, and Avery-Clark suggests attaching your résumé and photo along with your profile link, but nothing large. When the page says nothing, a safe middle path is one small headshot and a one-page résumé as a PDF, with your reel and profile as links. Never attach video. Name the files with your name ("Jordan-Lee-headshot.jpg," not "IMG_4471.jpg") so they still make sense when saved to a folder. Our guides to [headshots](https://www.offbook.com/blog/acting-headshots-guide) and [building an acting résumé](https://www.offbook.com/blog/acting-resume-no-experience) cover what should be in those files, and the free [acting résumé builder](https://www.offbook.com/tools/acting-resume-builder) saves a one-page PDF with no account needed. ## Keep it to one or two short paragraphs Campbell's rule of thumb is that "One or two paragraphs should be enough" to cover the essentials. Avery-Clark's version is shorter: get to the point. The fuller story can wait for the meeting. The template above runs about 100 words before the links. If yours goes past 150, read it aloud and cut every sentence that doesn't help the agent decide whether to click. ### A 60-second check before you send - Read the agency's submissions page once more and confirm you're following it. - Check the agent's name, the agency's name, and your referrer's name for spelling. - Click every link from a private browser window, logged out, to see what the agent will see. - Make sure your headshot and résumé match what's on your casting profile. - Read the subject line alone and ask whether you'd open it. - Write down the date you sent it, so you know when a follow-up is due. ## When to follow up, and what to say Silence is normal. The casting directory's guide says agents can't always reply, and that not hearing back usually means no for now. Give it time before you write again. Avery-Clark suggests two to four weeks before you chase. Campbell, speaking as an agent, says a follow-up is acceptable once a couple of months have passed. Where an agency posts its own timing, such as Collier's 30 days, use that. Then follow up once. Lorcan's guide is clear: "One follow up email is enough." Reply in the same thread so the agent sees your first note, keep it to two or three lines, and give them something new if you can: a booking, a show opening, a fresh reel. "I'm opening in [show] on [date] and would love you to see it" earns a click. "Just checking in" rarely does. After that, let it go and keep working. Collier invites actors to resubmit after three to six months if they've added new credits or training. If another agency posts no timing, waiting a few months until you have real news is reasonable. Never call the office to ask about a submission unless the agency says you can. Keeping your dates and replies in one place, like the free [audition tracker](https://www.offbook.com/tools/audition-tracker), stops you from writing to the same agent twice in a week. ## When the reply says "come in" If an agent writes back to set up a meeting, be ready in case they ask you to read while you're there. Our guide on [how to prepare for a general meeting](https://www.offbook.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-a-general-meeting) covers the conversation itself. For the reading, be ready before you're asked. Keep two contrasting pieces you could do tomorrow, and if you need a new one, our [monologue library](https://www.offbook.com/monologues) is a place to start. If they send sides, Offbook can read every other part aloud in a realistic voice and wait for you to finish each line, so you can rehearse the scene out loud on your laptop the night before instead of mouthing it alone. ## Questions actors ask ### What do you write when submitting to a talent agent? A short note, not a letter: who you are, a real referral or why you chose them, your best recent credit, the work you're looking for, and links to your headshot, résumé, reel, and casting profile. Follow the agency's own submission instructions first. ### How long should an actor's cover letter be? One or two short paragraphs, roughly 100 to 150 words before the links. Your résumé holds the full list of credits, so the email only needs the one that will make an agent click. ### Should I attach my headshot and reel to an agent email? Follow the agency's page first. When it says nothing, attach one small headshot and a one-page PDF résumé, and send your reel as a link. Never attach a video file, and don't send anything that has to be downloaded to watch.