You guys, welcome back to actors you are in love with, Ophelia Habelt from Johnson Talent Agency and MOA, your celebrity coach. Today is an exciting day. We're going to talk about pet peeves. This will be easy for us to talk about. It's it's basically our like our, our therapy session of venting. That's about our biggest pet peeves. Yeah, we're just gonna lay it out there. We're both wearing our IMNF shirts. You have the IMNF strong, right?
And I have the IMNF script. You guys, if you use the coupon code, send it, you'd get free shipping on anything that you get from imnfcollection.com. So without further ado, let's let's just shoot the shoe can. I show them. Can I show them the peace sign? On my yeah the peace sign is so cute. Look at how fun. That is. The peace sign, it's. Like just this fun swag. And I love this color too. I got. An yeah, that's an army. That's Army cover color, it says.
Hers says I am enough exactly as I am right underneath it. Like OK. Isn't that fun? Mine's AV neck. I like V necks. I've gotten, I've gotten compliments on it. Oh well, you can OfferUp the code to your friends. Yes, thank you. Thank you. Yes. Of course, you're part of the I Am Enough family. All right, let's start our our talk on pet peeves and things that probably annoy people. Let's just start venting right now. This is actually we we're we're venting yes, but also you guys
should know this. If you're an actor and you're watching this, you really should know this because you don't want to get in your own way. We do this all the time actors I've I've noticed in particular, but we all do it. We get in our own way and so we are going to like have a dual like purpose in this. We're gonna like vent, but we're also gonna tell you guys things that you might be doing. We're not venting, we're educating. We're educating. Come on, let's.
That's not a vent, it's an education. OK, I want to talk about the table read because I know somebody that was fired from a table read. Tell us, because I think I have a similar story, but let's go. Oh, really? Oh yeah, you. Guys, couldn't hear this because you haven't, you've not shared this with me yet, so this. No, I haven't. I haven't. So when this girl got the job, she looked the part right? But when she went to the table read, she looked like she rolled out of bed.
And so every all the producers were like, does anybody know who that girl is? They couldn't recognize her. Oh dear. Yes, they fired her at the table read. Oh my. God, anything like the character that they hired? Oh my goodness. You guys, you can get fired at the table read. Make sure that you are like in great shape when you go to that table read. So she got fired because she didn't look anything like what she sent in. But you can.
If you're not prepared at the table read, you have to look at it like it's another audition. You're you're just never secure. I also when I was managing, I had a client that got a that got a series regular and he was fired also because he got all cocky and he wasn't a team player. Oh, and I had another client. This is my story, that's exactly. That's your story. OK, I'm not going to let me finish my other client. You can tell your story. Oh, yeah, Yeah.
And I had another client that didn't participate in what they called B Roll. She was a series regular on a major TV show on TNT and they fired her after her second season because she stayed in a trailer and she didn't participate in the B roll which is the behind the scenes. Yeah. Oh, what's your story? No, but I will tell you, but that is I mean those are all these are that is that not person B roll.
I have seen this happen where talent will, you know, be great to work with and they'll suddenly get, you know, either a breakout role or something that's like pre breakout role. And they all of a sudden it goes to their head and all of a sudden they think they're a movie star and they they get they get really diva ish men and women. And then it's like, you know what?
This is not I don't know how you think this is going to work on set, but you're not Tom Cruise, so you don't get to like, you know, decide I'm going to do this. I'm not going to do that. Obviously we're not, you know, someone's asking you to do something that's like a poses like a moral opposition, but that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about having this attitude of like you're think you're a movie star, but you're not. So that will.
Get you totally, totally agree with that. Yeah. And then, you know, you got to be careful because, you know, if you think that the stars don't compete at a higher level, you're wrong. I mean, they're even. The competition never ends. So don't think you've arrived and act like you've arrived. That's a problem. It's a big problem. I've taken that a lot. Yeah, even a listers, they're not secure. They there there's only one role for, you know, there's only so many movies and they.
Also end up trying, they also end up leaving the the people that got them there. And that was the reason #5332 why I'm no longer a manager anymore. Because of that reason. You help them get to that position. They think they're bigger than you. Then they go to a big agency and then they try to come crawling back. Oh, yes, that's literally, that is not like a made-up thought that this is actual in real time like happening. Like we the, the, our agency, we're a boutique agency.
And so we've seen this happen. We have had, you know, our talent have breakout roles. And then, you know, a few months later they're like, hey, you know, I just, I really want to challenge myself. I see my contracts ending. I think I'm going to go in another direction and we, we always, because we are loyal to them, even whether if they're not being loyal to us, we're like, OK, you can do that.
But let me tell you the reasons what that why we have seen this, we have never seen this work and we'll tell you why. And so we go on and tell them all the reasons that we should do actually a separate podcast about that. No, it's a massive that beep, so this is okay. A massive and so we basically what we have seen forever. We've been doing this for over 12 years now and every time someone has done that, we have never seen them do any other
work. We have we we hear what we'll sometimes we'll see like a few years later, they're like working at McDonald's, not even in the industry or in and out, you know, or not even in the industry anymore. Or they come back, they come crawling back and we're like, I'm sorry, we you brought we don't trust you like we you know, like we'd we'd love to help you. We did really well for you before, but we're not taking you back, you know, so. I mean, you have to be loyal
guys. Julia Louise Dreyfus. So she's still with the same either agent or manager for the the eternity of her career. You know, I mean, the people that got you there can still move you up. I mean, it's absolutely everybody is at the same level unless you're at CAA or or William Morris, whatever endeavor, everybody's that's the same level. They're all getting the same information unless you're like
packaged in house. But what happens is that that these big agents, they go on set because that's what happened. I'm not going to name who was to one of my talents. They go on set and they, they, they basically tell them they're going to get a better deal. Oh, they'll. Tell them everything they want to.
Tell them all kinds of stuff. You know, those basketball coaches that try to, you know, you buck these people, they're poachers, Yeah. Absolutely, and they'll tell them, I mean, they want to hear and they tell them things that aren't completely accurate because what usually happens with those bigger agencies and and I'm you know, obviously the, the biggest a list is out there, the majority of them are with
the bigger agencies. So at some point in time, you know, I can you can understand why people will think, well, at some point in time I need it up there. But number one, you, you actually really don't have to do that. Like you said, there's you named one of them, but there's multiple stars that have had their same agent boutique agency throughout their whole career. Ralph Montreal is one of them. There's several others. So it's really not something that you actually have to do to
be successful. People just think that, yeah. But yeah, but if somebody's helping you, yeah, they're building you. Like, where's the loyalty? You know, it's one thing if like if the, if the agent or the manager all of a sudden you're working and then all of a sudden you're not going out at all. Yeah, you're not that. Happens a lot. I don't know why, but that happens a lot. It's like, well, well, I just was working. Why are you screwing up my
momentum? But if the agents right there with you and the manager is right there with you and they're building you and you're you're continuing to move up the ladder, don't break the momentum. Momentum and also recognize, like recognize where the industry is, you know, if because I we, I've had people that, you know, I'll interview and they, they want to, you know, leave their agent or like, why do you want to leave your agent? Well, I'm not getting out.
I'm like, do you know, there's been a strike? There's a strike for the last two years, you know, that like, you know, and if people are itchy like that, when when it's like they're not taking into consideration the big picture of like what might be happening in the industry, What kinds of trends have changed that you're not that you've made a decision not to keep up with and and adapt to and change your look to go with like what's trending, you know, things like that.
But normally, normally, I mean, what we've seen happen every time if someone ends up going to a bigger agency, if they are not booking right away, making money for them, like immediately, they just they, they like fall away, you know, they, they don't, yeah. Yeah, they pretty much they would forget about you. Yeah. I mean, you're never gonna get anybody on the phone, that's for sure. So. So the first one, the first pet peeve is make sure that you're
prepared for your table read. And the second one is don't jump ship those jump ship. So those that's the second one. OK, what do you have a why don't you start with the third one? OK, the third. One for me, this is about self tapes. Self tapes. You guys, when you have a deadline for a self tape, that is not the time you're supposed to be getting the tape in. The tape is due as soon as you can get it done.
And the reason is because casting normally starts watching them as soon as they're coming in. We just had last week had two people get callbacks for something that they turned in early that the deadline hadn't even passed yet. They're already getting callbacks. So if they find someone and they love them, they may not watch the rest of the tapes. They they most casting editors say we we watch them all.
But they may, you know. When they when they have their eight to 10. That's that's the real story. That's the real story. So they may not watch it. Also, if you turn it in and you have, you know, 20 minutes left like you, if you, if your agent's like you need to redo this because either it's terrible or you missed something on the big on the slate, you won't have time. What about if your agent went to dinner?
Oh, 100%. I've had people give me stuff like 2 minutes for us to do and I'm like, I'm not, I'm eating, I am eating dinner or I'm in a Zoom meeting. I am not jumping off the Zoom meeting because you happen to be ready right now. Like that's not how, that's not what's happening. And, and the other thing, the other reason is because this happened last week as well. Someone missed an audition because they got sick the day it
was due. They had four days to do this audition, so they didn't get to turn it in. They didn't even get a chance at it because they waited into and they and they actually they're like, Oh my gosh, they realize themselves. I don't why I should have just done this sooner. So you guys, that is a that's number three huge, huge pet peeve. And the other thing it tells me, and I had to have a conversation with someone about this actually this afternoon earlier, someone
who is repeatedly has a pattern. It's not just once in a while the pattern of turning auditions in like right before they're due. And I had to say, listen, I think I want this more than you do because you're taking yourself out of like the most competitive category by doing that. And so if you're doing that, like, I don't think you want this as much as I want it for
you. And I'm not, I'm not going to keep someone on my roster who's doesn't want it, who I want it more for them than they do for themselves. So don't do that, don't do that #3. So #3 is stop turning your tapes in late. Yeah, early bird gets the worm, guys. I mean, don't forget this is a competition and as a coach if you're turning things in late then you weren't ready 3 days
ago and so you're not ready now. So either either you want it and you understand how to get it in and book the damn thing, or take yourself out for a while so you can get it in within within 24 hours. I always get mine in within 24 hours. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah, because I mean, I'm telling you, you know, we, we live in a bubble though, you know, you don't realize like like years ago when you used to go to the office, you'd be like, where are all these people coming from?
Because there were so many people in the office. Now it's just you and your, your little self tape setup and your reader, right. And it's just two of you not cognizant of how many people want to stop. Oh, my God, You. You're, you. That's So that's such a good point. Going virtual has made you forget that you're competing with hundreds of people. Yeah. This is not just, oh, here's something to do on your own time is a little extra fun thing to do during your life like this.
If this if you have an agent, that means that this is your main thing. Yeah, it's intense. You're gonna be intense about it. But I mean, that's that's why it was different when we were in person. You saw how many people and that's what would make you almost more nervous when you were in person, especially on a callback. Sometimes it was an all back. Yeah, right. Like, what the hell, Is there more people now?
Like, I think there's more on the all back than there was on the original call, but whatever, whatever. But but you saw and you felt the energy of all these people And. And I used to just go in the hallway. Yeah, just to get away from everybody. But but now you're just by yourself and you don't realize how many people are actually up for that job. Exactly such a good point. OK #4 what's your #4 number?
Four, OK, mine is you guys stop sending long emails to your Rep. You know, start sending long emails. You know the reason why my emails get opened by reps when I send my people out to these reps to be represented is because I'm writing a paragraph. And I. Get to the And the more you write, the more high maintenance you become and the less likely they're going to want to even send you out because they might have to have a conversation with you. Yeah. So it used to be years ago. OK.
And I keep saying years ago because I've been in the industry since basically Jesus was a baby. And it's seriously, it's been that long. And and like back in the day, they used to say when you go to agent meetings, ask questions. Now if you ask questions, you see my maintenance. Yeah. Right. So that's why I'm saying guys, keep in mind times have changed. Yes, they definitely have one. Question at a time or if you have something to say to your
agent or your manager. Keep it to the point and concise. Yep, exactly. Please, please take that. We even have times have changed because we even have, you know, kind of before it's kind of like a pre COVID, post COVID. It's kind of like those are the big, you know, two different when we say times have changed, those are kind of the main, you know, the main things that we're talking about in our era generation.
But it used to be that when we pet, even when we pitch, it's like we could call them, you know, we call, we send an e-mail, we call like at the same time kind of thing. But now and castingers used to welcome that. And now it's really shifted and it's like, OK, don't there a lot of them are virtual. I mean, you know, they're in their virtual, they have virtual offices now. Not everyone, but a lot of them do.
And they're like, OK, please, like please don't call, just e-mail, just e-mail it to me. And so even with that, like there's just shifts all around like on in every kind of level, like in every like realm. Well. You have to look at like numbers, OK. So let's say you have 60 clients, OK, that was, that's potentially 60 emails a day potentially.
Yeah, exactly right. Yeah. And if your agent isn't getting back to you, like don't expect your agent to answer you back now expect your manager to answer you back because that's why you're on 17. But your agent they're really more sales. So yeah, unless you have like a quick exchange with your agent, don't get all butt hurt be and and Zen full because they didn't answer you back. I mean, that's.
Yeah, OK, so like this is leading me into like #5 and this is this is this is like right along those lines. Like have the right expectation about what kind of relationship an agent Rep, you know, or, or the actor Rep relationship is they are as much as we may, you know, think in the back of our minds. Oh my gosh, I like, if I wasn't repping them, I would just love to like hang out with them and like be their BFF. We we like, we can't do that.
We can't do that one because we don't have time to do that. That we're the relationship is not your BFF, you know, we're not like if I, you know, I would love to some of you, I would love to hang out with you, but I don't have the time to individually. We organize like group, you know, like every few months I'll have like a group like get together. But I had someone ask me recent, like not super recently, but you know, ask before I sent out the
invitation group. I can't make the group thing. Can I just get together with you individually? You don't understand what a Rep, what a Rep does then and and you also like are not really, there's a sense of like asking that you're not really honoring our time and you don't really understand what we what we do and what we're doing. The other problem with that is that you can easily crossover like any therapist. Good therapist will tell you
this. You can't, it's, it's not workable in a relationship to have dual relationships going on. Sometimes you have to, like sometimes you have a, a husband and wife that are working together or you, you know, you have these, you know, different things going on. Like I have my brother-in-law on my roster just just for like commercials that they need a surfer 'cause he's a surfer, he's not an actor, he's want to act. But for like, if they just need someone who's surfing, I have a lot.
So sometimes like you have to have a dual relationship but you you really shouldn't. It's not always preferable. It's better not like. Don't be upset about that. Like, okay, years ago, well, I used to have the agent and the manager and I brought them to lunch together, but we're in a like even more micro Snapchat society. Yes, people have. Less and less and less and less time. There's a lot of incoming information. There's a lot of hustling that
needs to happen. Actually more hustling because there's less jobs, right? Exactly. There's more hustling by your reps going on. So, yeah, if, if you can do a weekly, what I tell my students is to do a weekly wrap up, but don't expect an answer. So you could say, you know, Amy's weekly wrap up. So maybe you'll send it every Thursday. Just wrap up. I met with this casting director this week. They said I I did an excellent job. I had no notes.
That's good. I'm getting ready to go to my Film Festival where my movie's playing. That's. That's the information we want. That's it, That's it. And I asked my talent to send me like a monthly update. And so monthly. Update I do monthly and so it's easy because I can just put like this is great things the automatic reply and I do see it. I'm looking at it and I have it stashed away for like if something comes up, a role comes up with this casting director,
I'm going to put in the notes. Oh, they left your shop at on the state or you know, so those are all, that's all good stuff. We don't want to ever communicate. We want to know that you're still engaged. We want to know who. Absolutely, absolutely. But don't take away. Friend. Time. Yeah, exactly. So what are we on number six? OK, mine is OK. This is a massive misnomer and I and I you're never too old to start. That's good.
Never too old to start. And you know, and I hate like people go on too old and like, oh, it's already passing me by. Or the people that feel like they have to play catch up. You guys, if you're an artist, you're an artist. If you have a dream, then the dream needs to be forever and you get to have that dream and you get to make it happen for yourself. There is work for everybody, every age and every ethnicity. There is work for everybody.
And if there isn't work for everybody, then then you can create the work. It's not about how old you are. It's about your desire and your dream and your and your ability to work hard and smart. Exactly. And I, I don't like when people give me any kind of excuses at all. There is no excuse. If you have a dream, there are people like me and like a a ton of other people that could help you make that dream happen. It's are you willing to do that or do you want to just keep
making excuses? That's so good. That's so good. And honestly, I do think that behind, I mean, we could, you know, analyze this from a psychological perspective forever. But I think one of the main things behind that faulty thinking, that myth is that you're not enough, right? Hello. So that I think that's really important to get a handle on like noticing, like what might
be behind that. And if you if you know, you'll probably kind of stumble upon like, I like this inner belief, it's called a limiting belief that you just don't think that you're enough somehow. And so you really have to change that, that belief. Yeah. And I. I think it's it's better to overcome that than to be like 80 years old and go, why didn't I exactly? You. Never want to be a shoulda coulda, no shoulda coulda's. Do it now. Do it now.
You can make it happen now. And don't come up with, oh, the industry is this. The industry is that people will always tell you no. Yes, there's always going to be a reason. You will be able to find a reason why you shouldn't do something or always always you. Know and and people that don't understand it, you don't need to explain it to them. That's so good and absolutely not. You don't owe an explanation to
anyone. Yeah, just surround yourself with your village of people that understand you in this aspect of your life and then you have other friends and other aspects of your life. You can't. You can't assume that everybody is going to understand what you are doing in your life. Right. Or why you make the decisions that you make. Yeah, exactly. No. One's going to understand that. So you. Get to have your dreams, so stop acting like you don't.
That's so good, so connected to this is #7 pet peeve ignoring ignoring Rep advice. So. That that one is like, I, I kind of want to ask like, why do you why did, why did you ask me to represent you? Like, what is this all about? You're wanting me to ask? 2O's on that one. What? Does. All this mean. Oh my gosh. So this is a. Story. I will tell you a story. I had someone who, who you know, they signed with me and the first thing I asked you to send me your last, your last whole
gallery of headshots. And so they sent them to me and they were all like lifestyle shoots. They weren't like they weren't workable. For. Like acting and half of them, they weren't even looking at the camera. Like they were like, you know, you know, and they were like, or like, you know, full body. And I was like, oh, OK. Yep, definitely not gonna work. Here's here's you know, a recommended list of photographers that we see the
most results with. You don't have to choose them, but they, you need to send me their website. So I make sure they're comparable. And then this is, this is a whole document. And then like how you should prepare for it. And so I start, get this one person starts and this happened a couple times. They start giving me all this kickback. Well, I know I'm friends with this casting director and I showed them and they said these were great. I'm like, who, who is this cat?
Who? Who is telling you? Can I address other people telling you other things? Yeah. You have to trust the person that you're working with. Don't bring in like somebody wrote me like, oh, some casting director told me this one thing about action and scenes. Yeah. But then why are you hiring me to help you book if you're if you're like, why are you doing that?
Like why would you bring Ophelia on in the team and she tells you what's going to get you money and her money and then bring in some random what it called some rando person example like that's insulting. It very, it's definitely 100%. It is insulting because it's like, are you telling me that I don't know what I'm doing? Like, what are you saying here? Like this is I'm telling you these are not gonna work. I'm not going to submit you with these.
So you either go. But that just started your relationship with this person. I don't know even wanna work. With them, absolutely. And that's what happened. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, I think I made a mistake. This is I I don't, this is. And also like, I don't have time to argue with you. Like, what do you what is going on here? I don't have time to explain why these don't are not workable. Like you either want me to Rep you and that means you're going to take my advice or you don't.
But there's no, there's no. Yeah, exactly. Like don't sign with somebody that you don't respect their advice. Exactly if you. Sign you're always going to be at odds with each other like you all. It's got to be synchronicity. Everybody has to get along and you all have to be on the same page, right direction together. Exactly. Otherwise they're the wrong. People to sign with, you know.
And don't sign with if you don't have full trust And when you jump in, That's why I like when I, you know, if when I end up offering representation to someone, I often will say, please think about this for like, don't sign right away. I want you to think about this for like 24 hours sometimes.
Like no, I know I want him. OK, but I would rather someone and not only rather I need people to jump in with full trust and I understand like they don't totally know me and what worked with me. So they're going to they're, you know, I will give them permission to say, hey, you know, if it. And like if you want to ask me for like like two or three times Max, because what often happens is people will say, Hey, did you see this project?
I, I think I, I would really like to be submitted for this and basically like we see, we see everything on actors access in CASI networks like don't you don't need to be asking me this. It takes. Well, yeah, I think, I think that it also is believing that you guys are are walking the same way. And this is my package, this is what I'm submitting you for. So you're going to have to trust. Exactly. Trust that you will be submitted for everything regarding the
package we previously discussed. Exactly. You guys did not discuss the package and the the package is not based on everything that the agent wants and that you have then no wonder you have a question mark about whether or not they submitted you. Yeah, exactly, exactly. There there's a there, there are some valid reasons to be asking
that. And so that's why if you don't totally know me, like you can ask that a few times, You'll you'll basically I give them permission so that they can see like, yes, I did submit you for that. You know, after that you just need to let me do my job. It's either that or you spend more time, if you want more, more lands, then you should have clips for every one of the photos that you have. But that's a right. Not talking about it today. So that's, that's, that's the
deal. I mean, and I have #9 that was #8 right? I think that was that seven. I thought that maybe was 7. Odd. That's why I said and or possibly so. I don't know. I think it must count. Maybe, maybe 8. This is 8 or 9, who knows. OK. Well, I have AI have a good Segway do it that don't ask your agent and manager for feedback. Guys, your call back is your feedback and your ultimate
feedback is the booking. And I will tell you this, inevitably, the thing that you want feedback on is the one that you know you sucked at. Because if you know you did a great job, then you need to walk away and go. I did a great job. I know I did a great job and I if they don't pick me, then it's nothing I did. Yeah. But inevitably, if it's if you're asking for feedback, then you're not sure whether or not you nailed it. That's so good. Oh, I know, it should be good. Oh my gosh.
And and I think this might be what you're saying, but I'll even have I've a couple times have a talent send me like 4 different takes of their audition before they upload it. Which one do you think is better? And I'm always like, I don't have time to watch four different tapes, like I'm not a manager. And also you should be asking your coach or who's your are you? You are coaching, aren't you? No, I'm not. Sure they weren't because they
have 4 takes. There's only one take, V take, and if you didn't hit V take then that's why you're asking about four. Yeah, you will know when V take is. That's good. That's good. No. Stop acting. Like you don't know. And if you actors, if you're watching this and you don't know what she means that you should probably get in her class and her doing with her because you if you know, you know. And if you don't know, you means don't know.
Don't know. You have to always know what you're doing and know what you're saying and know what you're feeling and knowing the story and knowing the genre and knowing the style. And if you don't? And if you're not landing in and it's not clear to you, but why would it be clear to anybody else? So if you're sending 4 takes, it's not clear to you. You're not even ready to audition yet. Yeah, that's so good. That's so good. Which is? Why?
You shouldn't be like, like doing like 20 takes on an audition, right? So you're doing more than 3 or 4 takes, then everybody's got to go home and you need to do more homework. Yeah, walking into the space, nailing it, and then you're done. Maybe a second take. Exactly. Which means that you should be rehearsing before you get an audition, Probably daily. Yeah, I mean. I always, that's why people are in class, maybe working out, you know? Exactly I usually.
Take my technique and then go get a scene, break it down and then do a self tape. Just do self tapes every day. More self tapes to do. It's like being at the free throw line. You know, you guys expect that you haven't been working out and then you're up against somebody from my class. Yeah. Sorry, you don't have a shot. Yeah, have a shot. You got to be working out at a master level every single day. 100. Can you imagine if a like a somebody that's an Olympic athlete?
Do they do you think they take a day off? Like no. Right, right. In what worlds? No worlds. It's like Kobe, Kobe Bryant his the that book that he wrote the Oh my God, but. Did he talk about everyday I'm. Not a sports person. It was like cheetah, pumba, mamba, something mamba. And basically he talks. It's like his work ethic. He like he would be there, he would be at practice before anyone else. He would leave after everyone else. I mean, he just had an unbelievable work ethic and that
was a huge part of what? It's discipline. It's discipline and it's it's a constant and and you guys just have to be realistic. So the other pet peeve is when people are not in coaching and acting classes or if people just decide, I mean, this is sort of the same one, but it's a very specific, it's kind of more specific to like you got to get
in coaching. I mean, we don't have to totally belabor it because we just talked about it, but if you are not in a coach like about your agent, can you please get into a class to? Address the coach in my opinion. OK, this is just my opinion. If you are trained properly then the coach should just be there tweaking you. They shouldn't be there directing you.
So if you're if you're consistently being directed by a coach, then A, you're with the wrong coach and B, you still don't know what what you're doing. Because the people that get to me, I find out like what they've been doing, who they've been training with them. Like what do you have all these people and you still don't know what you're doing. You know, you have to always know what you're doing. And if you're like the people that coaches me usually are people that want to get to the
next level. Like you're like, you've been doing posters and you got a guest star audition. Yeah, you've got a serious regular audition or you're not booking those posters and you've been called back a lot. But in all honesty, if you're you are not in a place by the time you get to a coach for them to just tweak you and then shoot you, right? And then you don't know what you're doing. Yeah, that's, that's a super good point. Super, super good point.
And as an agent, I don't want to be like having to follow up with you five times. Like, are you in class yet? Are you in? Are you in coaching now? Like what's like? Well. Especially since you're sending them out. Like I get all the people, like I thank God not as much anymore, But when I was teaching at the theater, I would get those people that oh, Oh my, my agent's about to drop me. I've gone on like 15 auditions and I haven't booked 1. And I'm like, I don't want you then.
I want you at the beginning. No, because now you're desperate. Yeah. Wow. Like, well, that's, that's it. That's it. That's a bar right there. That's good, yeah. Because I want, I want somebody that's that loves it. You have to love every aspect of this business and you, you took all the time to learn how to act. Weren't you taking the time to learn how to book? And, and then you have, you finally get an agent, the agent that you've always wanted.
You finally get pictures, the pictures you've always wanted. Your package looks great. And then you go out and now you don't know what you're doing. Yeah. OK, I could talk for hours about that, but it it, it bothers me. I mean, am I right? Oh my gosh. I mean, I don't. I think that is something that people are not thinking about. I think that is something that is a a super powerful insight that you just shared that you know this is going to change someone's life right now hearing
this as an actor's life. Because I don't think people think about that. They don't think they don't think about it that way. The whole. Booking. Booking is a completely separate beast, OK? And if you don't understand what booking is for network television, which is a formula, and you don't understand the booking, what booking is for let's say a soap opera or even the vertical shorts.
Now it's specific kind of style. And if you don't understand that, it's not about just being a great actor anymore. It's you find and not even a great auditioner, but somebody that knows how to close. Yes, if this is a business, back to what we've talked about before, this is a business. Acting is a business. Yeah, You have to know how to close. You have to know what that's about for you. I remember I had a guy that was in my class. It was like he was, that's when
I was teaching a lot in person. So he's like, yeah, yeah, yeah. The bridge has called me in 12 times. I haven't booked. I'm like, you're bragging. OK, That was #1 #2 I said, how many times have you watched the bridge? Oh, a couple of times #3 I said to him, you don't deserve to poke the bridge. Ouch. Like bam, chicka chicka boom boom. Dude, if I was even called back twice for a show, I would be obsessed with that freaking
show. Watching that show, I would be, I would be looking at the color palette that they put the fucking people in. I would be going, what's their hair like? What's their, what's their makeup like? How are they standing? I remember years ago I had auditioned for Jack. I was called back twice. I'm like, fuck, why am I landing? Oh, it's a military show. I'm not walking in like I'm in the military. I'm not sitting like I'm in the military and then boom, my book.
Oh my gosh, I love this story. That's so good. Oh, that's so good. But that's what I'm saying, people don't have information. So you're you're looking to a coach to put a Band-Aid on it. And it's not about that. It's about are you able to close? Are you able to book? You spent all this time doing all this stuff for yourself. And the last thing that you you're thinking about is how to do a self tape and how to book Like what? Yeah.
Oh my gosh. This is a complete like mental shift as an actor that actors need to have if you want to start booking. Yeah, there's a lot of things that are not in our control a lot. And probably most. However, the things that are in our control, they make, they they will make or break your career. They really cool. Like, absolutely. Crazy. And I could go on for every about it. As you can see, I'm very passionate about it. But let's move on. Was that yours or mine?
Because it turned into mine. What? What OK was it? I think it was OK. We'll call it both. OK, so are we on #9 yet? I think we're on number. I don't know. I. Don't know. OK, give me one, give me one. OK, this is the last one. I have a last one too, so that's your last one. OK, this has been my last one. So when people are I'm wrapping them, they don't have a manager yet.
They decide they want a manager and they don't talk to me about it. They just go and get one and they announce to me that they have a manager. That's not really OK. That is not really if we are a team, that means I'm not your boss. But if you, if we are, if you've signed and that means you've agreed that we are a team, that means that every career move you make, I need to we need to have a conversation before you make a
decision. There might be a manager that I know something about that you don't know that I am not willing to work with them. There may be a manager that that I have had in the back of my mind for you that I know was going to advance your career and I've been waiting for the right time, but now you'll never get to be with them because you went and chose some other manager. Oh, boom. OK, well, you know what? I know? I'll tell you the psychology, the actor psychology behind that. OK.
Do you tell? Why they didn't tell the agents? Because they didn't feel close enough to the agent and they just wanted to go and do it for themselves. So that's that's, that's really what it is. So. That that I definitely see that. Yeah, you have to build your relationship with your agent to a sense that you wouldn't go and do that, but that's the reason why that happened, because they just want to add more people to the team and maybe somebody that they can communicate with.
However, this has happened. This has happened with people that I have been in full, like I, I am giving them even extra attention because they're working a lot. Because if someone's working a lot because there's other things in place And I'm, I'm trying to, you know, I need to, I need to be meeting with them one-on-one because of there's a business aspect of it and they just get it in there. They're kind of have like an independent kind of rogue heir to them for sure. There's no one.
You know, if you're, if you're working with an agent and let's say they're you know, it is a small age like we engage, they can give you more attention, but you are not, you know, giving them your monthly updates and staying engaged the way they've asked you to do or, or your your or your like have been a little difficult to work with. And so the agent has some more boundaries if you go and do this and that, maybe that is in your
mind, your reason. But what that's telling me is that you just you kind of want to do things on your own. So it'd be probably better just to work with your manager and submit yourself to stuff because you don't really want a team, You know, you should, you should be going ahead and making sure that we're not in a needy way like we talked about, but in a way that's, that's keeping your agent updated and letting him
know you're still in the game. You know, like there's, there's very legitimate reasons that someone would feel like I can't. I, I don't, I don't feel like I, my age never cuts back to me. I don't feel like they know me. They.
Yeah. And that's, that's, that's, I think what motivates it. But, but also we talked about earlier in the podcast about people that get too big for their britches after one big booking that other things come into play and and you thought you were close to them and all of a sudden you realize, oh, I guess I'm not. Yeah, right. It's a blemish on your
relationship with them. And it actually stuns the growth of your career with that agency, especially if you're working a lot as an actor and then you add some random person. So it's all about relationship. It's all about. What is? Always learning about relationship and about function of our relationship with people and just getting tough. But try not to be angry guys
just don't be resentful. Just try to understand how things work and and try to communicate better with your Rep. Yeah, that's so that's so good. That's a great. I think that's a great way to wrap it up because that's, that's the you want to have the whole goal of this, you guys is not to say like how annoying you are, is to say, Hey, we want you to have better relationship with your agent because that is how you're going to be successful.
We want you to have, you know, get rid of the resentment. Do you know, stop doing the things that are annoying your agent so they're not resentful towards you And like a really positive, strong relationship. That's that's like agent is trust and you can just really you can get build that momentum
together. Yeah, and that goes with everything that we've been talking about earlier, even about if they tell you that you really need to get new pictures and, you know, and and they give you a list and I don't know, it's just really important. It's it's always good to to reflect back on that list to the agent because they said that they approve these people. So why even pick anybody else? Exactly right. Not if you've decided to work together Actors you are enough are on all platforms.
It's on Spotify. So if you want to just listen or if you want to watch us, go to youtube.com/amy Linden and then you will watch us. But please subscribe, comment, like, share because we do this because we think it's fun but we don't make any money from this. No, this is a this is a bonus. This is. These are free. You're welcome. Yeah, you're welcome. Bonus of your life. Yes. All right. And that's, that's it, all right. Guys, go, go kill it. Go do some great things in the world.