How to Leave Your Agent (and How to Know It’s Time)

You notice it in your calendar before you admit it to yourself. The last real audition was weeks ago. Your agent’s emails have gone from three lines to one, and the last time you asked about a role you were right for, you heard nothing back. A friend at another agency mentions she’s been out four times this month.

Then the second-guessing starts. Is it them, or is it you? Is it just a slow season? And if you do leave, what do you say, what do you owe, and what if nobody else takes you?

The short version: count before you decide, and talk before you leave. Look at what has actually happened over the last few months, raise it with your agent plainly, and give the answer a fair chance. If it still isn’t working, read your contract for the term, the notice it requires, and what happens to commission on work already booked. Line up your next agent before you give notice, tell your current agent yourself, by phone or in person, then confirm it in writing. Thank them, hand over cleanly, and keep the door open.

Tell a bad fit from a slow season

Every career has dry spells, and an agent can’t create work that isn’t being cast. So before you decide your agent is the problem, get the facts out of your head and onto a page. How many auditions did you have in the last three months, and the three before that? How many callbacks? Were they for roles you’re actually right for? A simple log like our free audition tracker turns a vague feeling into numbers you can talk about.

Then look at the relationship itself. An anonymous performer, writing about respectfully parting ways with an agent for a UK casting directory’s advice pages, suggests a few honest questions. Can you raise concerns with your agent and discuss them openly? How many clients do they have, and are those clients going up for the same roles you are? Do the agency’s strengths match where you want to work? Their example: if you want film and your agent is known for musical theater, the casting directors you want to reach may not think to call them.

The same writer warns against snap decisions, and against blaming the agent whenever things aren’t going your way. Talent agent Oliver Campbell makes a related point in his ten tips for actors: most decisions about casting and representation “are not personal.” A quiet month isn’t proof of anything.

Signs that point to a real problem, rather than a slow season:

• Your audition count has dropped for months while you’ve been available and your materials are current.
• The auditions you do get are consistently for work you’ve told them you don’t want, or aren’t right for.
• You can’t get a reply to a direct question, or you hear about changes at the agency from someone else.
• Your goals have moved (a new market, screen instead of stage) and the agency doesn’t work in that world.
• You no longer trust them to be straight with you. Campbell’s advice on choosing an agent is to find someone you “can be open and honest with”. If that’s gone, the rest is hard to fix.

And check your side honestly. Are your headshots and reel current? Have you blocked out dates without telling them? Have you been turning things down? An agent who can’t reach you, or can’t sell what you’ve given them, isn’t failing you.

Have the conversation before you make the decision

It’s easy to leave an agent you never actually talked to: stew for months, then send a short email. The relationship might have been fixable, and even if it wasn’t, the agent was never given the chance.

Ask for a call or a meeting, and bring the log. Keep it about the work, not about blame. Something like: “I’ve had two auditions since spring, both for roles a decade older than me. I want to make sure we’re aiming at the same things. Can we talk about where you see me, and what I can do to help?”

Then listen. You may learn something useful: casting has been slow in your category, they’ve been pitching you and getting no for an answer, or they think your reel is holding you back. Agree on a few concrete things (updated materials, a clear target list, a check-in date) and give it a fair stretch, a few months rather than a few weeks. If nothing changes after a real conversation, you’ll leave knowing you tried, and so will they.

Read your contract before you say anything final

How you can leave, and when, is set by what you signed, not by a general rule. Get the contract out before you give notice, and read it slowly. A guide to finding and signing an agent on the same UK site tells actors to ask about “break clauses/leaving protocols upfront” and to read any contract thoroughly, with help from a union or a lawyer if needed. If you didn’t ask then, the contract still holds the answers now. Look for:

• The term. When the contract started, how long it runs, and whether it renews on its own.
• The exit. Any clause that lets you end it early, and the conditions attached.
• The notice. Whether you must give notice, how much, and in what form (in writing, to whom, at what address).
• Exclusivity. Whether the contract is exclusive, and for what kinds of work.
• Commission after you leave. What the agent keeps on jobs booked before your notice, and for how long.
• A named agent. Whether the contract names the person who represents you, and what happens if they leave.

Actors’ Equity members (US stage)

Actors’ Equity publishes its rules for terminating agency contracts. If, in any 90-day period, the agent fails to get you a bona fide offer of work, passed on to you in writing, that meets the conditions on that page (commensurate with your prestige, at least four weeks, at your customary salary), you may end the agreement “by notice in writing to the Agent and to Equity.” Note both: the agent and the union.

The 90 days are extended while you’ve told the agent in writing that you’re unavailable, while you’re employed and so unavailable, or while illness or injury keeps you from answering a call. And if you and the agent agreed that specific people named in the contract would represent you, and they leave the agency, the same page says you may end the agreement.

SAG-AFTRA members and other contracts

Don’t rely on a number you read on a forum. Find the termination paragraph in the contract you signed, and if it’s a union agency agreement and anything is unclear, call your union before you send notice. If your contract is not on a union form, an entertainment lawyer can explain what it means before you act on it.

In the UK

Under the UK’s Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, an agency has to agree its terms with you before it starts finding you work, and those terms must say whether you have to give notice to end the contract and, if so, how long. So the notice period should be written down. If you can’t find yours, ask the agency for a copy of your terms.

A UK screen-acting school’s guide to agents and representation, summarizing Equity’s advice, says to be cautious of long notice periods and warns that open-ended commission claims rarely have any legal justification. If your contract has either, Equity members can ask the union about it before giving notice.

What you still owe after you leave

Leaving doesn’t necessarily wipe out commission on work the agent already got you. The Equity page is direct about it: a termination under that clause doesn’t take away the agent’s commission on money you earned before it, or on later earnings from contracts you entered into before the termination took effect. Under that rule, if you’ve booked a tour and give notice in the middle of it, expect to keep paying commission on that job.

Beyond that, the details are in your contract: which jobs count as “booked” (an offer, a hold, a signed deal), how long any post-term commission runs, and whether it covers renewals or extensions of the same job. Read that clause before your notice letter, not after. If it seems to claim commission on work with no end date, that’s exactly the kind of term the UK guidance above flags, so get advice.

One practical point: if a job is in progress, agree in writing with your old agent (and tell your new one) which jobs carry commission to whom, so nobody is guessing when the checks arrive.

Line up the next agent first

Leaving with nowhere to go can mean months with no one submitting you. It usually makes sense to look quietly first and give notice only once you have a firm offer from another agency. Do the research the anonymous performer suggests: look at who represents actors whose work you admire, ask castmates about their agents, and point out any mutual contacts when you write.

Keep the approach short and specific. Our guide on how to email an agent has a template you can adapt; when you’re already represented, say so plainly and say what you’re looking for, without criticizing your current agent. If you’re weighing a manager instead of a new agent, read agent vs. manager for actors first, because the jobs and the contracts are different.

When a new agent asks to meet, treat it like a meeting, not a rescue. The same essay says to always meet an agent in person and in their registered office, and to ask plenty of questions. Ask the questions you wish you’d asked last time: who else they represent at your level, how they communicate, and what their contract says about term, notice, and commission. Our guide on preparing for a general meeting covers the conversation.

Some agents will ask you to read. If they send sides, Offbook reads every other part aloud in a realistic voice and waits for you to finish each line, so you can rehearse the scene out loud on your laptop the night before. If they ask for a monologue, our monologue library is a place to start.

Before you sign anything new, check how it fits with what you’re leaving. If your current contract is exclusive and still running, don’t sign a second exclusive contract that overlaps it. Agree a start date with the new agency that falls after your notice ends.

Make the call, then put it in writing

When it’s time, tell your agent yourself. The anonymous performer is firm on this: “Never just remove them from your profile without first having a proper conversation.” Their advice for the hard moment is simple: “As hard as it may be, make that call.”

Keep the call short and kind. Thank them for specific things they did. Say you’ve decided to move on, and, if you’re comfortable, why, in one sentence about fit or direction rather than a list of complaints. You don’t need to defend the decision. Leaving is often about logistics, the same essay says, such as how you fit in the agency or where you are in your career, not a verdict that the agent is bad.

Then send written notice the same day, in the form your contract asks for. Keep it to the facts:

Dear [agent’s name],

Thank you for speaking with me today. As discussed, I’m writing to give notice that I’m ending my representation agreement with [agency] dated [date], under [clause or paragraph, if your contract names one]. [If your contract has a notice period: “I understand my notice period ends on [date].”]

I’ll continue to pay commission as the agreement provides on [job(s) booked before this notice]. Please let me know if there’s anything you need from me to close out those bookings.

Thank you for your work on my behalf. I’ve appreciated [one specific thing].

[Full name]
[Phone] | [email]

Send it in a way you can prove it arrived (email with a reply, or tracked post if the contract names an address), and keep a copy. If you’re an Actors’ Equity member using the clause above, send a copy to Equity as well, since the rule names both. Then write down the date your notice takes effect.

A short checklist for leaving well

• Log your auditions and callbacks for the last few months.
• Have one honest conversation with your agent and give it a fair stretch.
• Read the term, exit, notice, exclusivity, and post-term commission clauses.
• Research and meet new agents quietly; get a firm offer before giving notice.
• Call your agent first, then send written notice in the form your contract requires.
• Copy the union if your contract or its rules require it.
• List any jobs in progress and agree who is paid commission on each.
• Update your casting profiles and résumé only once your notice has taken effect.

Leave the door open

The industry is small. The agent you leave may move agencies, join a casting office, or represent someone you’ll work with for years. The anonymous performer suggests thanking them sincerely, perhaps with a card, and reminds readers that agents “are humans too, so be polite and above all professional.”

Hand over cleanly. Finish any auditions already scheduled through them if your contract and your new agency allow it, pass on the details of anything in progress, and don’t badmouth them to casting, your new agent, or your castmates. If you liked them as people, say so. A good exit is the reason an old agent says “lovely to work with” when someone asks about you later.

Questions actors ask

How do I leave my acting agent?

Read your contract for the term, the exit clause, and the notice it requires. Line up new representation first if you can. Then tell your agent yourself by phone or in person, and follow up the same day with short written notice in the form your contract asks for, keeping a copy and proof it arrived.

When should an actor drop their agent?

When the numbers and the relationship both say it isn’t working, after you’ve talked about it. A long drop in auditions while you’re available, auditions for the wrong work, no replies to direct questions, or goals the agency doesn’t serve are real signs. A single quiet month usually isn’t.

Do I owe my old agent commission after I leave?

Often, yes, on work booked before you left. Actors’ Equity’s termination rule, for example, keeps the agent’s commission on contracts you entered into before the termination took effect. How long any post-term commission lasts, and what it covers, is set by your contract, so read that clause before you give notice.

Can I talk to other agents while I’m still signed?

Yes. Looking quietly first means you aren’t left without anyone submitting you. Be honest that you’re currently represented, don’t criticize your agent, and don’t sign a new exclusive contract that overlaps the one you have. Check your contract for anything that limits this.