Why EVERYTHING Changes When You Get A Good Agent

Getting a good agent isn’t the end of the journey—it’s the beginning of a whole new chapter. In this episode, veteran talent agent Anthony Boyer breaks down why everything shifts once you’re represented by someone who truly gets it.

We talk about what a great agent actually does behind the scenes, how they multiply your efforts (not replace them), and the mindset changes actors need to make to fully benefit from next-level representation.

Whether you’re wondering if you’re ready for an agent or looking to maximize the relationship you already have, this episode is packed with clarity, strategy, and truth.

Want to watch this episode? Check us out YouTube.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hello from Hollywood.
My name is Anthony Boyer.
I've been a talent agent in Los Angeles
and New York for the last 15 years.
And this is Take Fountain.
Today we're gonna be talking about why everything in your
career changes when you get a good agent.
Now, I've worked with actors at every level,
whether they were brand new, fresh outta college, fresh

(00:22):
to Los Angeles, or series regulars,
or, you know, I've got clients who have, you know,
stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame already.
And one of the most common misunderstandings I see is
how actors underestimate, uh,
what happens when they actually land a good agent.
The opportunities, the responsibilities,

(00:42):
and the mindset shifts,
and I'll share some examples
that can help you decide if you are ready for the next step.
A good agent is a career multiplier.
Uh, not all agents are created equal,
but there are many good agents.
Now, whether they're good for you is really the question,
but a good agent is gonna take everything that you are doing

(01:03):
and make it more effective.
They're gonna take the career you are building
and multiply it.
Uh, now they're gonna transition from you self submitting on
projects, or they're gonna transition from you going in on
smaller roles, into direct pitches, to casting directors,
conversations with producers, directors, they're going
to get you into larger rooms, uh, a lot

(01:25):
of times if it's a good agent.
And you're gonna go from like generic sort of auditions to
many times strategic on-brand moves that are moving forward,
the career that you are building.
Um, and with that, increased access
comes increased expectations.
Now, I get a lot of actors who say that they're ready

(01:46):
to level up their career,
and I'm not sure that a lot
of them understand quite what that means.
When you do sign with an agent who really gets you
and who's really good for you, uh,
the business side gets real fast.
Representation shifts your career from passion
to partnership.
You're gonna be working with somebody,
whether it's an agent or a manager.

(02:07):
But in this video we're talking about agents.
Um, and I think a lot of people think, well,
the agent will take care, take care of things.
Now, that simply isn't the case.
You can't just wait for the phone to ring
or for the emails to come in.
Um, the reality is it's more like a gym, right?
Uh, you still actually have to show up and put in the work.
Um, so you know, you have to be ready.

(02:28):
What does ready look like? It means sharp materials.
It means you're polishing your craft.
You're constantly working on your craft,
and it means that you have a business mindset,
something we talk about on this channel a lot, right?
Understanding how to run your business.
Now, what the agent is going to do is they're going
to amplify that.
So similar to the gym,

(02:49):
I can't motivate you to go to the gym.
You have to go to the gym.
And when you're running your business, I can't motivate you
to get into acting or to do your work,
to do your side of things.
You don't want me spending my time motivating you
to put in the work you want me
to spend my time creating opportunities for you.
Now, with better opportunities comes greater impact

(03:10):
from your decisions, right?
Uh, when you're just selfs submitting on actors access,
for instance, maybe get an audition, it isn't your vibe.
You just blow it off.
Well, with an agent, you know,
we're frequently putting our reputations on the line.
We're working our networks, we're working our contacts.
That doesn't necessarily mean that you have
to do every audition that we send to you,
but it does mean that if an audition is not right for you,

(03:33):
if it doesn't work for you, if you're gonna decline,
you should have a conversation with your agents so
that we're not spending our time on projects
that are not in line with how you see your career going.
It's not just you affected anymore.
It's, it's a lot of people.
It's not just me affected, it's my other clients.
It's the relationships I've built.
And so you've entered into a partnership,

(03:54):
and with a partnership comes some
additional responsibilities.
You are being seen for higher level projects.
Um, you know, I've got a client, for instance, who
she was just recently, she's a, she's a talent agent.
She was just talking about how she was building her
business, uh, her agency.
And to her, it was just this passion project.
She started, it was something she was doing, you know,

(04:16):
she had a, a, a handful of clients, good clients,
and they were working and it was all good.
Um, but it never felt real to her.
She would say like, you know, like,
if I just walked away tomorrow, like,
it would not be that big a deal.
But one day she turned around
and she realized that there are all these other agents now,
and she is running a business that is their company.
That's who they work for.

(04:36):
Um, that if she doesn't show up tomorrow, if she, you know,
walks away, suddenly they can't feed their families
and suddenly they, you know, they
lose their insurance or whatever.
And I want you to think about
that way about your business too.
Like, people are relying on you as you get more serious.
And as you bring on a good agent,
peop now you're building something together.
It isn't just you who's affected. Everything is more real.

(04:59):
The other thing I think a lot of actors
don't understand when they say that they, they're ready
to level up, if you will, is
that there's a real psychological shift.
You're no longer in aspiring actor, right?
You are a professional actor.
You have a good talent agent, you have a team.
You might have meetings, you might have industry attention.

(05:19):
And you know, your agent, as we mentioned
before, is leveraging their credibility to vouch for you.
And you have to deliver.
You can't phone one in, you can't take a self tape off.
You really have to polish your product as much as possible.
You don't have to book every job, right?
You don't have to get every single thing right?
You can make mistakes, but you can't,

(05:42):
you can't take an audition off.
You can't phone one in, you can't, you know, half-ass one,
um, pardon the language.
But you know, if you don't show up, the momentum stalls.
Um, and this pressure fosters real growth. Uh, right?
Pressure builds diamonds.
Um, it builds resilience, it builds professionalism,

(06:02):
it builds long-term thinking.
But you have to embrace it.
You have to have the grit and the determination
and the ability to lean into the pressure.
'cause this business is not all easy.
And so when things get hard,
when you get a little bit scared, when you feel out
of your comfort zone, that's a real opportunity for growth.
So I want to talk about a real world example.

(06:23):
Um, this is a, a client of mine. We will call Amanda.
Uh, when I met Amanda, she was mid-career.
She had some good guest stars.
Um, I think she had had a recurring, uh, epi arc on a,
on an episodic at some point.
Um, but she had no real strong rep history.
She had gotten lucky on some auditions
that her reps had gotten her,
but mostly her career, career was built on,

(06:46):
on connections she made.
And so when we first met, you know, she sat down in front
of me and I, I asked her the question I asked most actors,
which is like, what are you looking to build?
Like, what does this career look like?
And she presented me with three dream projects.
And she had done the research.
She knew who created those projects, she knew
who was directing those projects,

(07:06):
and she knew who was casting those projects.
She was clear, she was specific, and she was researched.
She was in a word ready.
And so the great thing about that is we were able
to look at those career, uh, dream projects, if you will,
those specific projects
and reverse engineer her materials to match those projects.

(07:29):
So, you know, we overhaul her materials,
we overhaul her headshots and her tape,
and we, you know, we had made very targeted submissions,
and we looked for opportunities to put her in rooms
or in conversations with the creators of those projects.
She ended up booking a guest star on one of those projects
that turned into a recurring arc.
Uh, and then she became actually a, uh,

(07:51):
fractional series regular on that se on one of those series
that she came in and presented to me in that first meeting.
Now, do you need to have three target shows?
No, not necessarily. But I find
that the more specific you get, if you are gunning for,
if you have three projects in mind, five projects in mind,
whatever, and you get really specific on those projects,
I find that that actually helps everything else.

(08:13):
Also, because you're focused, um, I find
that like preparation meets opportunity
and that equals momentum.
So you have to be prepared
and then, you know, the agent hopefully can help
create those opportunities.
But if you're not ready, then that momentum goes away.
I want you to really sit and reflect

(08:34):
and think like, am I ready for the commitment this is going
to require from me both personally and professionally?
Am I ready to rise to that challenge?
Um, it's not about getting in the room,
it's about staying there.
I can get you into a lot of rooms once,
but you have to earn that second time.
We've all had eight clients where we sign them,

(08:56):
we're very excited, we call around, we get them a lot
of auditions, and they never get back into those same rooms.
So just make sure that you're ready.
Uh, if you're gonna bring on someone who's relying on you
to, to, you know, create commission for them, um,
and to collaborate with them, just make sure
that you're holding up, you're able
to hold up your end of the bargain.

(09:16):
If you enjoyed this content, click that thumbs up button.
Hey, while you're at it, why don't you subscribe
and leave a comment below saying you're
ready to level up your career.
Thanks so much. Been, take.