How to Get an Acting Agent With No Experience (and Avoid the Scams)

You’ve done a few classes, a student film, maybe a play at the community theater. Everyone keeps telling you the next step is “get an agent.” So you search, and the first thing you find is an “agency” that loves your look and would be happy to sign you, right after you pay for their photo package.

That moment is where a lot of new actors lose money, time, or both. Getting a real agent with little experience is possible, but it works differently from how most people imagine it. A cold email rarely does it on its own. Agents tend to sign actors they have seen do good work, or actors someone they trust has vouched for.

The short version: build a small, honest set of materials, find agents who are franchised or licensed, get seen working, and ask people who know your work to make an introduction. Never pay anyone to represent you. The rest of this guide shows you how, using what agents, the unions, and the FTC actually say.

Know what an agent does, and what a manager does

A talent agent finds you auditions and negotiates your deals. In return, they take a commission when you get paid. SAG-AFTRA’s guide for young performers says an agent should be franchised by the union, is generally licensed by the state, and is generally limited to a 10% commission.

Why does an agent matter so much? Because some jobs are never shown to actors. Breakdown Services, which runs Actors Access, explains in its FAQ that some casting notices go only to agents and managers, and the casting director decides where each project is posted. An agent gets you into rooms you cannot submit to yourself.

A manager is different. The same SAG-AFTRA page says managers are not licensed by the state or franchised by the unions, generally charge 10 to 15%, and focus on career advice. In New York and California, a manager may not get you work without working with a licensed agent. The union also advises having an attorney review any management contract before you sign.

For most beginners, an agent is the first goal. A manager can come later, if you ever need one. And until either happens, you can still submit yourself for plenty of work, which matters more than it sounds (see the last section). Our guide to agent vs manager covers when a manager is worth the extra commission.

What “no experience” can still look like on paper

Agents do not expect a beginner to have TV credits. They expect you to be ready to audition: clear photos, an honest résumé, some evidence you can act, and a sense of how you could be cast. When Backstage asked the founders of Across the Board Talent Agency what they look for, Guy Kochlani said that for commercial clients, a good look and “hopefully something on your résumé” make you a candidate.

In the same interview, Kochlani warned against padding your credits. Don’t call a featured extra job a major role. He also asked actors to be realistic about their age range. His partner, Todd Eskin, said he opens every submission and that a résumé of small independent work does not rule you out if you are truly talented. To lay that work out on one clean page, try our free acting resume builder. Our guide to making an acting resume with no experience shows what to list section by section.

Here is a realistic starter kit:

• Headshots that look like you on a good day, from a photographer you chose yourself. Two or three strong shots beat ten. Our guide to acting headshots covers how to prepare for the shoot.
• A one-page résumé with every credit described honestly: student films, theater (community counts), readings, and your training.
• Training you can name: a scene study class, an improv program, a degree, or a respected coach.
• Footage. A reel if you have usable clips. If you don’t, one or two well-shot, self-taped scenes or a monologue can show what you do. Agents may ask for a monologue in person too, so keep a short one ready and check its length with a monologue timer. Our guide to making a reel with no footage covers how to shoot those scenes.
• A sense of your type: two or three roles you could book this year, not the roles you hope to play in ten.

You do not need to be in the union. Kochlani’s advice in that interview was the opposite: build your résumé before you join SAG-AFTRA, because members cannot take nonunion work. Being eligible to join, without joining yet, leaves you room to do both for a while.

Find agents who are real, and right for you

Start with the lists the industry keeps. SAG-AFTRA publishes a franchised agent list with more than 500 agencies regulated by its franchise agreements, along with each agency’s specialties (theatrical, commercial, voiceover, and so on). For stage work, Actors’ Equity says its members may only sign with franchised agents, and its rules prohibit a commission above 10%.

One trap in older advice: “If an agency isn’t SAG-franchised, it isn’t legit.” That’s too simple. Many established agencies belong to the Association of Talent Agents, a trade group with more than 100 member companies. When an agency joins the ATA, SAG-AFTRA notes that it stays franchised under the AFTRA side of the rules but not the SAG side. If such an agency hands you its own contract form, the union recommends having a lawyer review it first.

State law is the other check. According to SAG-AFTRA, agents must be licensed in California, New York, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. In California, the Labor Commissioner keeps a searchable database of licensed talent agencies, so you can confirm a license in a minute.

Then narrow the list to agencies that fit you:

• Market. Look for agencies in a city where you can actually get to auditions and callbacks.
• Area. Theatrical agents handle film, TV, and stage. Commercial agents handle ads. Some agencies do both, in separate departments.
• Clients. Look at who the agency already represents, on its site or on IMDb. If they represent actors at your level and of your type, you have a reason to write. If they already have five of you, you may be a conflict.

How to submit, and why a referral beats a cold email

SAG-AFTRA says the best way to connect with an agent is a referral from another industry professional, such as a casting director who has worked with that agent, or an actor the agent already represents. That is why your network is part of the job: classmates, teachers, directors of the student films you did.

There is a catch, according to Backstage’s anonymous agent columnist, Secret Agent Man. Anyone can write “referred by” in an email, so a referral isn’t worth much unless the person contacts the agent directly. Ask your contact to send a short note or make a call. A real introduction gets opened.

When you do write, the same column gives practical rules. Make the subject line say something (“Just got great reviews!” beats “Actor seeking representation”). Send no more than three headshots and a PDF résumé. Keep the email to one or two paragraphs about your background, your training, and what you want next. A simple shape:

Subject: Referred by [name] / [your name], [your type and city]

Hi [agent’s name], [name] suggested I reach out. I’m a [city]-based actor, trained at [program], and I’ve just finished [your best recent credit]. I’m looking for [theatrical or commercial] representation and think I’d fit well alongside [a client or two at your level]. My headshots and résumé are attached, and my reel is here: [link]. Thank you for your time.

Now the honest part. Richard Fisher, then a senior partner at Abrams Artists Agency, told Backstage in 2019 that “it’s rare that I’m gonna call somebody from the mailing.” What works better, he said, is a note inviting the agency to see you in something, even a good downtown showcase. His agency attended school showcases mostly from February through May, seeing 1,000 to 1,500 students in about ten weeks.

So treat your submission as an introduction, and your work as the pitch. Get on a stage, get into a showcase, finish the short film. When you have something new to show, that is your reason to follow up. One short note with real news is better than several notes saying “just checking in.”

Spot a talent scam before it costs you

Real agents earn money when you earn money. The Federal Trade Commission puts it plainly: “Paying to get a job is always a sign of a scam.” Its December 2025 alert describes unexpected texts offering a “virtual open call” for a famous show, which turn into a sales pitch for test shoots, headshots, or a fee to “secure your spot.”

In California, the law is explicit. Labor Code section 1700.40 says no talent agency shall collect a registration fee, and it bars agencies from referring you to photographers, coaches, schools, or reel makers they have a financial interest in. Paid “talent services” may exist, but California does not let them call themselves agents.

Union rules point the same way. SAG-AFTRA’s Los Angeles bulletin on commissions says franchised agents may collect no other miscellaneous fees from you or your employer. For union film, TV, and streaming work in Los Angeles, the bulletin adds, an agent must negotiate above scale (generally “scale plus 10”) to take a commission at all.

Walk away if you see any of these signs, most of which come from the FTC’s guide to modeling and talent scams:

• Any fee to sign, register, audition, or “hold your place.”
• A required photographer, class, or website, especially one the agency owns or recommends with a discount.
• Promises that you will get work, or earn a set amount.
• Pressure to sign today, before you can read the contract or ask anyone.
• Payment requested in cash, gift cards, money orders, wire transfers, or crypto.
• No license where your state requires one, and no franchise or ATA membership you can check.

If something feels off, you can report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. SAG-AFTRA members can also call the union’s Professional Representatives Department, which answers questions about what’s standard in agent relationships.

The meeting, and the offer

If an agent likes your submission or your work, they will ask you to come in. Fisher’s advice in that interview was simple: don’t perform at them, be yourself, and do your homework on the agency and the people you are meeting. An agent may ask for a monologue or hand you a scene to read on the spot, so it helps to know how to cold read before you walk in.

Remember that you are hiring them too. SAG-AFTRA’s advice is not to sign with the first person who offers, and to ask questions until you can picture working with this person for years. Its magazine put it in one line: “It’s better to have no representation than bad representation.”

Good questions to ask:

• Which areas would you represent me in: theatrical, commercial, or both?
• How do you see me being cast in the next year?
• How many clients do you have in my age range and type?
• How do you prefer to communicate, and how often should I expect to hear from you?
• Is this a union-approved contract? How long is the term, and how do I end it?
• What is your commission, and is there any other fee? (The answer to the second part should be no.)

Read the contract before you sign it, slowly. If it isn’t a union-approved form, or if you are signing with a manager, follow the unions’ advice and have an attorney review it. After the meeting, Fisher said, trust your gut: you should walk out saying either “I really like those people” or “They are not for me.”

What to do while you don’t have an agent yet

Not having an agent doesn’t stop you from working. On Actors Access, the profile is free, and you can submit yourself to roles casting posts there with a paid Plus membership or on a per-project basis. Backstage and Casting Networks let you browse casting calls and build a profile too. Our guide to the apps working actors use sorts out which platform does what. As your submissions add up, log each one in a free audition tracker to see which sites and casting offices call you in. Our guide on how to track your auditions explains what to log. To choose where to submit first, see our guide to the best casting websites.

Every job you book that way is a credit, a clip for your reel, and a director who might recommend you. That is the slow, real path: the work creates the introductions, and the introductions create the meetings.

Keep your audition skills sharp in between. Many auditions are self-taped now, so practice taping on your own until it feels routine. For learning sides fast, Offbook reads the other characters in realistic voices and gives you the next cue when you finish your line, so you walk into every audition knowing the scene. Rehearse on your laptop with the full script on a big screen, and listen to your scenes on your phone anywhere.

Whatever you use, keep going. An agent is not a door you knock on once. It’s a relationship that usually starts because someone saw you do good work. Make sure there’s work to see.