November 30, 2025 • 51 mins
Navigating the World of Acting and Modeling: Insights from Agent Charlie WinfieldHave you ever wanted to be a Star? Model in magazine or TV ads? Act in commercials or films? In this episode of the Silver Disobedience® Perception Dynamics™ podcast, host Dian Griesel interviews Charlie Winfield, president & co-owner of FFT Models and a long-time talent agent with personal experience as a child actor. They discuss the realities of becoming an A-list celebrity, the importance of passion and commitment, and the key qualities needed for success in the acting and modeling industries. Charlie shares valuable tips on what agencies look for, the significance of authenticity, and the necessity of doing thorough research. He also emphasizes the importance of confidence, perseverance, and continually honing one's skills. This episode is a must-watch for anyone looking to enter the entertainment industry.
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I’m Dian Griesel and in November of 2017 I began blogging as @SilverDisobedience on my website and @SilverDisobedience on Instagram Facebook and @DianGriesel X Career-wise, I am a perception analyst, counselor, hypnotherapist, author of 16 books and a Wilhelmina model. For 30 years, via owning an investor & public relations firm, while being in private practice, I have helped my clients to achieve greater understanding as to how perceptions impact everything we do whether personally or professionally. A couple of years ago I added a podcast. Episodes are unscripted, with plenty of no-holds-barred revelations from fascinating, accomplished guests living diverse lives. Intimate stories about work, play, psychology, relationships, pop culture, trends, B.S. + more are unpacked through thought-provoking questions that spark honest revelations, pivotal moments, and unguarded insights — stunning even the boldest guests with their own “aha” truths. ✨
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diangriesel/
This episode was recorded in collaboration with The Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Show Run:
00:00 Introduction to Becoming a Celebrity00:28 Insights from Charlie Winfield00:54 The Reality of the Modeling Industry02:28 Passion and Commitment in Child Acting03:27 Charlie's Early Acting Days04:00 Scouting and Training Young Talent09:37 The Importance of Confidence and Perseverance11:00 Navigating the Industry's Challenges14:41 The Role of Social Media and Digital Submissions25:28 Charlie's Journey from Actor to Agent25:55 Navigating the Entertainment Industry26:26 From New York to LA and Back26:57 The Best Talent is in New York28:58 The Importance of Versatility34:05 A Day in the Life of an Agent38:39 Understanding the Role of Agents and Managers40:17 Industry Changes and Regulations42:47 Diversity and Marketability in the Industry45:36 Confidence and Persistence in Show Business48:45 Final Thoughts and Takeaways
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi. Have you ever wondered what it
would take to become a celebrity, a star?
What about if your children wanted to do this?
In the world we live in today, you could say everyone thinks
they're a star because we've gotsocial media proliferating and
(00:23):
creating a lot of illusion. But today my guest Charlie
Winfield who is the co-owner of FFT Models and a very long time
agent who was a child actor is going to shed light on what the
world of acting modeling commercials really means and
(00:46):
what it takes. So thank you very much, Charlie.
Not at all. My pleasure.
Glad to be here. OK.
I'm sure you deal with people all day long who say I have what
it takes or I take a nice picture.
I want to be a model. What's your first response to
that? It's not about what you want,
(01:09):
what you think or even how you see yourself.
It's about this industry and what people are looking for.
It's about realistically, about you being a facilitator, you
being able to facilitate the needs of the advertisers.
What are they looking for? They want you to be able to sell
their products. What product?
Any product, every product. It doesn't matter age wise,
ethnicity wise or gender wise. I really talk.
(01:31):
It is not really about you at all, it's about the product.
Think about yourself, you're a real person, appetizer looking
to sell their products to real people.
What is it about you that makes you a viable commodity in this
industry? The fact that you are a real
person. That simple.
As long as you have the passion and desire that you really want
to do this. I mean it is about commitment as
well. This has to be something you're
really serious about because realistically I tell everybody,
(01:54):
look at it this way, it's calledshow business, but you get none
of the show without the business.
Oh, good point. Absolutely.
What does that business look like?
What are the tools? Someone who presents themself to
you says, oh, Charlie, you're anagent.
You own an agency. My I want my child to be a
(02:16):
model. I know they have what it takes
to be a star. How do you respond to that?
Realistically, I feel like it's,I mean, everybody does feel
like, oh, you know, their kids want to get into this, this
industry. This is something they really
want to do. But it really does start with
the child. I mean, it really does.
They have to be the ones who really want to do this, not
because mom and dad want them todo this, but because they show
that passion, that desire. A lot of times, if you really
(02:39):
pay attention to your kids, you'll be amazed at the things
that they do just in their regular course of the day.
And you see, wow, they really dohave an aptitude for this.
This is something that you know what they might gravitate
towards this, you know, they're outgoing, they're engaging and
they're just full of energy. And that's that's the thing I've
noticed. Like when I started out in this
industry, my parents hated the fact that I was wanted to be in
this, but I was one of those silly kids.
(03:01):
You know, I did things like I would go into supermarkets and
put put things in other people'sshopping carts in department
stores and I would hide in the racks and, and I would people
take the clothes out. I would pull their clothes back
in. My dad thought I was just super
silly, but my mom thought it wasadorable.
So she like, you know what, he'sgot a lot of energy.
I'm going to put him in acting classes and just see what
(03:22):
happens. And once they did that, they put
me in there. I never looked back and.
And what did those early state? Let's start with you.
What did those early days look like as a child actor for you?
It started out like really with a lot of commercials.
I did commercials and my parentsgot me into roller skating at a
really young age. That was one of the things that
I seem to really just gravitate towards, and I actually roller
(03:46):
skate to this day. So I actually did a lot of stuff
as a roller skater, but initially started out as a child
actor where I was just doing basically just a lot of
commercials, which was great. I enjoyed it, had a good time.
It was just something I I got into this industry and I never
looked back. Yeah, but for kids, you know, we
scout a lot of kids all the time.
I travel all over the country scouting kids when we go to
(04:07):
conventions and it's amazing theenergy that some of these kids
have. And you really see their passion
and desire. And I'm amazed at how talented
some of these people are. And they have these kids are and
they have no idea until you really get in front of them.
You're like, Oh my goodness, your diamonds in the rough.
I mean, so this is a really goodindustry for kids and adults as
well. But I find the kids are a lot
because they're new, they're fresh.
(04:29):
They just seem to have a lot more energy And they have, no,
they have no embarrassment. No, they're just, they just have
that energy. They want to do this.
They really show that passion. That's really the biggest thing
for me is the kids really just show that they have that passion
and desire. And you know, you can tell right
away. We meet kids all the time who
think they want to be in this industry until they get in front
of somebody and they just clam down.
They're quiet, you know, they become very reserved and shy.
(04:51):
But then some kids just are justfull of beans and it's like, Oh
my goodness, They they just engaging in incredibly it's,
it's wonderful. I love it.
You know, and how do, how do youthink imagination plays in there
for a young child? I think it's paramount.
I mean, that's key. I remember, you know, because my
parents used to read books to uswhen we were little kids and
they would act out the characters.
(05:13):
I tell everybody, you know, that's a great way to kind of
segue your kids into this because reading is a great
thing, especially for the kids because it's a great way for
them to act out these charactersin the books.
I do it all the time. I still do it.
I think it's fabulous. I think kids should definitely
do that. It's also part of their training
and they start, they start at that early age.
Those are ways you can tell right away to those are really
(05:35):
good signs and keys to tell. And a lot of times you just see
kids who are just, you know, I was one of those kids who when
music came on, my mom and dad loved music.
So they put on the record playerand next thing you know, I'm in
the corner somewhere dancing andjust doing my thing.
And they were, you know, having those video cameras.
My dad used to have the old, it was old fashioned video
recorders that he would play it,he'd pull out a big screen and
(05:58):
put it on the screen and we would just go back and watch all
we think out. And I thought it would be
embarrassed seeing myself, but Iactually kind of got a kick out
of seeing myself. So I would do little skits.
I just had a blast with it. And I see a lot of kids still
doing that now, especially with the onset of social media,
TikTok and all these things I see.
So it's a great way for the kidsto really get into the industry.
So I always say, I do always saythough, it's got to be with the
(06:20):
kids first. And what would a kid be required
to do if they wanted to approachan agent like you?
Now, obviously you said you'd goaround and you attend a lot of
events where you're scouting or you're teaching and you're
educating and explaining the industry.
How does somebody, what do they have to send Someone Like You?
(06:42):
Well, the initial way to submit now is at our agency we have a
website. So people just submit on the
website. They can Google agencies and
then FFT models dot NYC. Yeah, they just check our
website, see the kind of things that we do and it gives them a
little background about the agency, how long we've been in
business and the kind of things that we do and what we look for.
(07:03):
Because of the type of agency that we are.
We work with all types. We do it.
We kind of call it from the wombto the tomb.
Yeah, we have a little bit of everything from newborn infants
all the way up to octogenarians.People are, you know, 80 plus
years old and we pride ourselveson diversity as well because we
have all ethnicities, all shapes, all sizes.
We have kids in wheelchairs, people with missing limbs,
(07:23):
various ailments, alopecia, there's all kinds of things.
So it's a wide open industry now.
So that's one of the best thingsabout this, that it's opened up
so much, especially market wise because you know, clients are
trying to advertise to everybodynow.
So what a great way to get into this industry and you can also
have a lot of longevity and you can do this forever.
This is a great industry for longevity, I would say, as long
(07:45):
as this as it's something you understand and you really do
your research and homework and you can really see just how
marketable you are because there's so many things in this
industry that you can do that people just have no idea until
they really do their research and homework.
That's one of the biggest thingsabout this industry is we always
tell people make sure that you know, you do your research, do
your homework because it is a business and you need to learn
(08:06):
and know as much as you can. What, what does that research
involve? What do you think the main
things people need to learn? Obviously they need to learn
posing, getting comfortable in front of a camera, but what else
are you would you say are key things you would say to somebody
you know you just need to learn more?
(08:27):
Realistically, I think it startsin life.
I mean, it starts with life, butas a training, I would always
say get into an acting class. You know, it starts when kids
are in school, plays, church recitals, community theater.
There's all kinds of things thatyou can do to kind of segue
yourself into this industry. It's about being comfortable
number one in front of the camera.
That's one of the biggest thingsis to make sure you're
(08:48):
comfortable in the front, in front of the camera and you can
really see how photogenic you are.
It's a really good way to kind of get yourself in this
industry. Yeah, 'cause usually what
happens with us is when parents are interested or even just, you
know, adults are interested, they submit pictures to us on
our website and we just have them submit to regular pictures,
(09:09):
not professional picture to something that, you know, you
take every day, a nice smiling face shot and then a full body
shot. And then we, we review those
pictures, we go through them, welook to see what is it about
you. You know, we're looking for your
uniqueness, your authenticity. Are you marketable?
Are you a type of talent that wesee working every day?
So, you know, we have to pay attention to the climate of the
industry as well because you know, it's, it's a tough
(09:31):
industry. I do tell people that
realistically 90% of the people that submit to the agency get
rejected. But at the same time, it is
about confidence as well, knowing the difference between
being confident and being conceited as we all.
Know that's a. That's a good point.
Yes, absolutely. Well, I mean, because it starts
with that because that's what clients are really looking for.
(09:53):
You have to be able to show thatyou are confident and
comfortable in your own skin because, you know, we are our
own worst critics. We can look in the mirror and
find things about ourself that you know, we don't like.
But at the same time, you have to also remember it.
This is a very subjective industry.
What we may not like about ourselves, someone else may
think is perfect, maybe exactly what we're looking for.
So you have to have that confidence that shows that this
(10:14):
is what I want to do, you know, and not be conceited about it.
You know, if you're an attractive person or a talented
person, it's OK to say or feel that you're attractive or that
you're confident that you have, that you're good at what you do,
that you're skilled. That's wonderful.
That's the kind of confidence that not only that we look for,
but the advertisers as well, because I tell town, you know,
we only look as good as you makeus look.
Right. You know, and that's such a
(10:36):
funny point because I think you also need the thick skin in a
few ways. But one of them is to actually,
when you actually see the end result of a campaign and
sometimes you think, Oh my gosh,they really chose that picture.
You never know. Could I have looked more wrinkly
if they tried? That's what somebody wanted.
(10:59):
Yeah, no, it's absolutely true. Yeah.
Because, you know, that's, I think that really is the thing
about that confidence, because Itell people #1 like you said,
you better have a thick skin. If you want to be in this
industry, you better have a thick skin.
And you better have a thick skinnow because this industry will
chew you up and spit you out. And it's not to belittle or
demean or hurt your feelings. It's just the nature of the
business. But what will they want when
(11:20):
they want it? So, you know, you have to have
that kind of thick skin because,you know, like I said, this is
this is a really competitive industry.
There are tons of people that want to be in this industry.
But also takes a special kind ofperson to really have the
intestinal fortitude to persevere.
Perseverance. It's that's paramount.
You know, this has to be something, you know, hey, it may
not happen overnight. It may not happen next week,
(11:42):
next month or next year. You will pay your dues.
Believe me, you will pay your dues.
It does happen for some people, you know, occasionally it
happens like, wow, I got into this industry and all of a
sudden I just blew up. But for the majority of us, it
takes time. It takes, it takes a lot of
sweat, tears, a lot of disappointment.
You will get your back bend all out of shape.
You know, you'll get your lips all poked out.
(12:02):
Nobody wants me. Nobody thinks I'm talented.
That's where it goes back to. It's not about you.
You want to do this, you have tostick to it.
It's all about that. I tell everybody it's all about
patience and perseverance. You're not.
You're not successful in anything unless you really work
at it. Doesn't just fall in your lap.
And there are so many decision makers involved in something.
There's the cat, there's the agent that chooses to represent
(12:25):
you. There's the casting agent that
says they'll see you or not. Then there's the client.
Or there might be the advertising agency in between
the client. Then there's who knows how many
players at the agency or the client you know it's a.
Oh, yeah, Notice that there's a order of hierarchy.
And I tell, I tell her about talent.
You're a low man on totem pole. You are the last one that
(12:46):
everybody is concerned about, you know, so you just have to
make sure you understand that's part of the business learning of
this industry is knowing that, hey, you know, as the actor, as
the talent, I am low man on totem pole.
You know, there is always going to be someone above me that's
going to have the final say. We all have someone to answer
to. So it really just depends.
Like I said, you know what people are or looking for it.
You know, you never there's no rhyme or reason to this industry
(13:08):
whatsoever. So somebody needs thick skin,
they need perseverance, they need and confidence, not
conceit. What else would you say?
Well, once, once you have all that, yeah, acting classes, then
you want to work on, you know, depending on what you do
initially, it's always going to be your pictures.
That's one of the main tools in this industry are going to be
(13:30):
your photographs, your picture and resume.
For actors, they need a headshotthat has a resume for for people
who want to be models, dependingon what type of model.
They used to use comp cards backin the but now everything is
digital. So everything is on websites
now. So as long as you have a good,
you have good pictures that you can submit to an agency that has
a variety of different pictures.It's really about that because I
(13:52):
told her about, it's about it's your versatility in your
pictures that enhances your marketability, which in turn
gives you longevity. Because you can work in this
industry forever as long as you understand how to market
yourself and show people that you're not one-dimensional.
Because in this industry, if youallow people to pigeonhole you,
that's exactly what they will do.
You know, as agents, I feel likeour job is to not allow you to
(14:15):
pigeonhole yourself to really help you broaden that gap and
show, hey, look, there are so many things that about you that
are viable. There's a ton of things that you
can do in this industry. Don't limit yourself because
once you limit yourself, you pretty much have, you know, you
pretty much knocked yourself outof the game.
It's you have to open yourself to all types of aspects of this
industry. So all types of aspects and we
(14:36):
were talking about keeping your pictures current and you have to
have a good headshot. How has the social media filter
impacted when you can remove every wrinkle?
You can change your hair color, you can change your eye color,
You can remove 10 lbs if you wanted and lengthen your legs.
But you know what I mean? You can do that, but really it's
(14:58):
you do all that and then you getin front of the person and all
of a sudden you don't present yourself the same way.
Like, wait, that's not the same person.
That's that was in that picture.Your hair color is different,
your your eye color, you've you've gained weight, lost
weight. There are all these different
things that social media to me and become it has become the
bane of our existence. You know, it's kind of there's
5050. Some people love it, some people
(15:19):
hate it. It has its benefits.
It has its detriments. I'm kind of in the middle.
You know, it does has it has some good benefits, but I'm old
school. I come from the days of, you
know, I want a good picture. And then when I when I bring, I
mean, could you look at that picture I told you think about
it's that old saying don't judgea book by its cover.
(15:40):
But I tell bright in this industry, that's exactly what we
do. That's the first thing that we
do because we don't know you, you know, we're going to judge
you. So you want to make sure that
picture is a good representationof you, because when we're
looking at pictures, you know, we're really going through these
pictures. We're not sitting here kind of
Hemming and hawing. Well, you know, what if, oh, it
could be, well, maybe I tell everybody if it, it takes that
(16:02):
much time, if it takes any time for me to sit there and look at
your picture, I need to know right off the bat, this is a
viable person. This is a marketable person.
What is it about them? And I see, and I have to think
of it this way. I have to look at it and I have
to make quick decisions. I, if I, if I, I tell people, I
look at your picture and I'm hesitating, I have any
hesitation. Realistically, it's a no.
It's that simple. I should be able to look at a
(16:24):
picture and I should be able to instantly and automatically see,
you know what? There's something about this
person because in that picture it's about you being engaging.
My first thing is when I look atthat picture I'm looking at, I
want to see what is it about this person that appeals to me.
I don't know this person. I've never seen them before.
But I look at that picture and the very first thing that should
come to my mind, that looks likea nice person.
(16:45):
I know it sounds simple, but it really is because that's all I
have to go on. Now, if I look at that picture
and I go, oh, you look like a nice person.
I then decide, you know what, I'm going to bring that person
to meet with them. Well, then that's when I finally
realized, OK, well, you know what?
That person came in and they weren't as engaging or as
appealing as I thought they initially were.
But that picture is what is the first step to get your foot in
(17:08):
the door. So that to me is the most
important aspect of this industry is making sure that you
have a good picture that represents you in a positive and
in a way that really represents who you really are and what your
personality is really like. Do you have people who submit
using the Shawshank Redemption approach of?
I'm going to send FFT models my picture every single day until I
(17:30):
get. Well, you know what?
We used to? Because before used to, we used
to get tons of mail literally every day of submissions of
people standing in headshots andcommon cards.
But with social media and with the onset of the Internet,
everything is digital now. So, you know, every agency has
websites. So now that is the really the
only way that you really submit.Occasionally I do still get
(17:51):
snail mail for people sending inhead shots and comp cards.
Like wow, who even uses a headshot anymore or who uses a
comp card? I, I do kind of like it because
like I said, you know, going back old school, I like a
headshot. I like a comp card because it's
a really good way, a good visualto see what this person like and
what you look like in print. That's a really good thing
(18:12):
because you know, we don't all take a fabulous picture.
You may look good in person, butwe take a photograph.
It becomes something to so you know you have to be aware of
these. Things and some people look
better on in pictures versus video where video you know they
need that animation to you know oh. 100% yeah.
But you know, so that's why I say it really is, you know, you
do have to have a good picture and you also it's important to
(18:34):
know how to take a a good picture.
What is it that makes a good picture?
Because. What do you think makes a good
picture? For me, I look at one of the
first things I look at. I look at the eyes.
That's the first thing I look at.
It sounds very corny. It sounds cliched.
But definitely, can somebody getlight into their eyes?
(18:54):
Absolutely. The eyes are the windows to the
world. I can look at a picture and I
look in those eyes and right away those eyes say something to
you. Your eyes should speak to me.
That's I'm looking for. Do you ever look at a picture?
Sometimes and you get a picture,you look at it and it has that
that the dough in the headlight look, we look at the pictures
kind of like hello, exactly. It looks vacant.
That reads. I mean, we look at that because
(19:15):
it kind of if you look vacant inin in your pictures, we're going
to bring, but that's what you'regoing to be like in person.
You know, my thing is I want to see, I love to see a big smile.
I love them like because that says to me right off the bat,
that looks like a nice person. Now, when you come in, you might
be a jerk or, you know, not a not a nice person.
But like I said again, that picture is your initial thing.
(19:36):
That's what gets your foot in the door.
The rest is up to you, but that picture is paramount is the most
important aspect of this industry in my opinion.
It's funny when you talk about going from comcords to digital,
I mean, I'm always amazed with aany kind of agent that's as
busy, busy as you are at FFT andyou've got all these, you know,
(19:59):
castings you're trying to sit, you know, casting agents saying,
you know, I've got this, I've got this, I've got this.
I mean to me. I know when I have to edit a
book, I have to print it. I have to cut it into things.
I have to say, you know, this really belongs over in this
chapter. And this I should have put in,
you know, the opening or I can'timagine it's to me, it's got to
(20:21):
be more difficult doing it digitally.
I almost could imagine that if you had a bunch of comp cards,
you could say, oh, they shoot company.
I can just pile all these peopleand think about it and, you
know, this lipstick, oh, these would be interesting people for
this, you know? But I, I mean, digitally now it
is, it is a lot. I guess it's, it makes it easier
(20:43):
on us because we can really go through the pictures.
It's easier to kind of just do it, go through boom, boom, boom
can knock them right out, you know, and we can tell right
away. Like, OK, you know what, we can
kind of put a mark on this one. All right, we're going to, we're
interested in this one. We're kind of interested in this
one. This one's an absolute no, so we
kind of know it. It does make it a little easier
where you're not having to go through a bunch of pictures on a
regular basis all the time the Internet, because we can just
zoom right through them and we do we really do and I, you know,
(21:06):
we get hundreds of submissions daily.
We do look at every single submission that comes in, but
we're also very particular aboutthe talent that we work with
because one of the biggest things that we tell people is
it's about following directions more.
That's a key thing in this industry is being able to follow
directions. Even on our website, we have
(21:26):
specific pictures that we want you to submit to us so that we
can view. And I know it's going to sound
terrible, but we, you know, whena picture comes.
In somebody out that can't follow directions.
Very easy because we go, OK, youhave, you have a visual example
of what we want you to submit. You would not believe the
submissions that we get where people send in all kinds of
(21:47):
crazy pictures and they're nothing like the examples that
we've asked. And honestly, I tell them if I,
if I look at a picture like thatright off the bat and you're not
following directions, it's a no because it says to me, why would
I take a chance on my reputation?
I value my reputation. We only have all we have to go
on is our reputation. And I look at it and go, well,
if I can't, if I put directions out and I want you to send a
(22:09):
picture like this and you can't follow the simple, a simple
direction like that, then I can't take a chance that I can
represent you or send you out toa client.
You might be able to. You might not follow directions
for them. I believe it because I've hired
people my whole life and I anytime I would hire people, I
would say, you know, cover letter mandatory along because I
and, and I always said make it original.
(22:31):
I don't want a standard cover letter.
I want to know that somebody read the job description, that
they understand how they fit. And it was always so easy when
people say, how come, you know, I printed off?
Because I always needed to look at them printed.
I'm a paper waster. You know, the pile could have
been this high and all of a sudden in the afternoon it's
this high. Then people would say, how'd you
(22:51):
go through those that fast? I'm like, they didn't include a
cover letter or it's the standard cut and paste cover
letter that they called me John,you know, or you know, Dick
instead of Diane. I'm like, you know, if you can't
proofread, if you can't do thesethings, it's very easy to go
into the pay no mine pile. Yes, I mean it sounds, it does
sound terrible like. No it doesn't, because it's a
first hurdle. Absolutely.
(23:12):
And you don't get paid unless someone gets the job and then
does a good job and hopefully wants to get hired again by that
company or another company. Absolutely. 100%.
You know, I remember one of my first what somebody at one point
when I was in like, I don't know, 19 or 20 said you would be
(23:34):
a good HR person. And I remember I sent my first
person out for a job as a secretary, and I called her up
after and she says to me, well, you know, I was 45 minutes late.
I'm like, I can't do this. This is not an industry for me.
I cannot rely that my income is going to be based on whether
someone can get to the job on time.
(23:56):
Absolutely, absolutely. So God bless you, Charlie.
You've got a lot of patience. Yeah.
Well, you know what, I think in this industry you have to.
You do and you have a great demeanor.
You're like Josh, the chief engineer here.
You guys like have these personalities that are mind
blowing that you're you're chill.
Well. You know what I think honestly,
my thing is I really enjoy what I do.
(24:19):
I love what I do. This is, you know, I couldn't do
anything else there. You know, I had, there was a
time where I was sitting behind a desk and I was doing a nine to
five and pushing paper and I waslike, you know what, this is
just not for me. Even my parents, when my dad,
when I when as an actor, when itcame time to go to college, I
took a year off. When I graduated, I took a year
off from school. I was like, OK, Papa, you know,
(24:40):
I don't want to do this. You know, I want to, I'm going
to go right to college. I want to relax.
And my dad was a little disappointed, but in all my
years, he had seen all the things that I had done, how I
progressed as an actor. This thing was, look, I want you
to go to college so you could have something else to fall back
on if this doesn't work out. I said, OK, fine.
So I went for a couple years. I realized, you know what,
(25:01):
college is not a thing for me because my dad was a computer
programmer, and, you know, he was doing flow charts and pie
charts. I'm like, OK, I have no idea
what this is. This is not for me.
I need to get back in front of the camera.
So I wound up getting another show that took me overseas.
And he was like, OK, you know what?
You've been doing really well with this industry.
You've been a great kid. You never caused me any drama,
(25:22):
any problem. You know what, OK, knock
yourself out. And once I decided to become an
agent. That's what I want to know.
Where was the crossover from being the actor to the agent?
Let's see, I stopped acting around the age of 20, probably
like 21, because actually, unfortunately, something
happened to me in the industry that was somewhat traumatizing.
(25:44):
And I decided, you know what, Asan actor with what happened to
me, it hit me enough that I decided, you know what?
I don't think being in front of the camera is where I want to be
anymore. I want to make sure that what
happened to me in the industry doesn't happen to someone else.
So I want to really learn as much as I can about this entry
and be a segue for talent who want to get into this and be
(26:05):
there to kind of help them bridge the gap and kind of
maneuver in this industry because it's a tough industry.
It's very competitive, it's verytough industry.
And my parents knew nothing about this industry when they
got me into it. So I decided, you know what, I
think my purposes would better be served behind the camera as
opposed to in front of the camera.
And I've never looked back. You know, it's been, I've loved
(26:26):
it. I started out as a junior agent.
I'm worked my way up to an agentworking at an agency, got
relocated to Los Angeles, CA wasout there for 9 years and I call
it doing time I was in LALA was not my cup of tea.
I am a tried and true New Yorker.
But you know, I put, I invested 9 years, I had a great time.
(26:46):
I had some wonderful times out there.
I had some times out there, but when it was time to come back to
New York, I was more than ready.And, you know, I've been back
here ever since and I've never looked back.
And I mean, I, I love the energyof New York.
I realize this is where I need to be.
And at the same time, I personally feel like I'm a
little biased. I feel like the best talent is
(27:08):
here in New York because realistically, on the West
Coast, it's kind of like being asmall fish in a giant pond.
Because, you know, anybody wantsto get in this industry, one of
the first thing they do is, oh, you know, I want to go to Lai
want to be discovered. Well, OK, great.
But everybody and mother is thinking the same way.
But here on the East Coast, it'sa little different because I
think agents, casting directors,producers direct, they really
(27:31):
know if you're going to get talent, the best talent in my
opinion is on the way is out here on the East Coast.
Because here on the East Coast, I feel like this is where the
best training is. There's a lot of work on the
West Coast, but at the same timethere's not as much work here on
the East Coast. But what is here.
And I think when most people in the industry realizes that the
(27:52):
best training, like I said, I'm biased.
I feel like the best training ishere in New York.
And training as far as classes. Classes thing, improv, comedy,
any aspect to learn this industry, it's here in my
opinion. And again, yes, I'm biased, but
I do feel like the best trainingis here.
There is so much, there is so much.
(28:14):
It's it's easy to get to. Yes, it's priced at all
different levels. So you know, if if you're
willing to invest in a career, budget should not be your
object. Here's that cliche.
If you can make it here, you canmake it anywhere.
The New York is no joke. This is a tough town, but it
(28:35):
takes a special kind of person to really be successful here in
New York City. You know, that's where that
patience and perseverance comes in.
You know, you do it here. I feel like, hey, once you once
you've got here and you can takethe world by storm, you know,
but it's, I feel like it starts here in New York because New
York is a tough town. You know, we all know that it's
a tough town, but you know, it'strue.
If you can make it here, you canmake it anywhere.
(28:56):
I believe that 100%. Do you think there's points
where actors crossover from let's say printer, commercials
or television? Like how did?
How does that all work? In some of the career can be
all-encompassing. I think all the skills that you
have in your daily life can alsokind of bridge into any aspect
(29:18):
of this industry, whether you are a musician, you're a singer,
you're a dancer, you're a model.They all kind of play hand in
hand. Because realistically it's it's
almost like you're a Jack of alltrades, master of none.
You know, you do a little bit ofeverything.
One of the things that kind of turns me off is sometimes people
come in and, you know, ask them,well, what is your goal?
What do you want to do? Oh, well, you know, I just want
(29:41):
to do this or I just want to do that.
Well, once I hear you just want to do, you just want to do this,
just want to do that, that says to me, you, you're, you've
instantly limited yourself and that's my and my, and that
becomes to me, that becomes a turn off because it says to me
that you're not really invested in this because you never know
what people are looking for. So why not learn as much as you
(30:03):
can about do everything? You know, it's not to say you
have to master it all, but at least be familiar with it.
You know, when I got into the industry, you know, as an actor,
well, I knew good and well I could not sing.
My I still Can't Sing. So.
And I, you know, so I did audition for projects that were
singing, you know, and people were very real.
And they were like, hey, look, you know, you're adorable, but
(30:24):
don't you have to do that again?There's no singing for you.
I know I'm tone deaf, but you know, but I did, I tried, you
know, I learned to play, try andplay a musical instrument.
I took dance classes. You know, I'm an artist.
I draw, I roller skate, I play golf.
I mean, I try and do as much as I can.
I try not to limit myself. And I tell talent the same
(30:45):
thing. Don't limit yourself, you know,
do a little bit of everything because you never know what
people looking for. We get all types of talents in
this industry, so don't limit yourself.
There's so many, there are probably things that you realize
that you know you can do that you really have never even tried
before. Limiting yourself again to me is
something that will, you know, that cancel you out of this
industry. You have to be open to doing
(31:07):
everything. You may not, like I said, you
may not be a professional, you may not be great at it, but at
the same time at least try, you know, because if you don't try,
then you don't, you know, there's no opportunity and
there's no such thing as failure.
You know, I, I don't even use that word in this industry at
all. There's nothing about, there's
no failure. You work at this until you know,
until you, it's just what you do.
You move here. It's, it's a constant.
(31:28):
I, I feel like it's a constant. You are always working on your
craft. You are never going to get to a
point where you feel like, OK, Ithink I've learned everything I
can know about this industry. I say I feel like as long as
I've been in this industry, I learn new things every single
day. I learn from new, from novice
talent that comes in this industry because I feel like the
moment I feel like I know everything in this industry,
that's when I know it's time forme to move on and do something
(31:50):
else. So as long as I'm constantly
learning, I feel like that's what keeps me young.
That's what keeps my energy going.
I love what I do. I enjoy it.
You know, I have my downs too. You know, I want to, I want, I
want all the best talent. I want to book all the jobs.
You know, realistically that's not going to happen.
But at least I know, you know, I'm in the game and I love that.
(32:11):
You know, my excitement, my success comes from the talent
seeing that they engage in this and that they're successful
because their success makes me feel successful.
And that's all I ask for. You know what's so funny?
You just used a phrase. The last book I wrote was called
Mastering the Rules of the Game,and it's a business book.
(32:32):
But when people say, you know, what keeps you going, I'm like,
why? I'm playing the game.
And people say, what do you meanby that?
I'm like, I don't know how to describe it, but it's a game and
I just want to play it. And I want to know every day I'm
getting a little better at winning that game.
And it's like this. But when people think, I think
(32:52):
of, I was thinking fashion of the monologue that I think it
was Santucci, you know, gives Anne Hathaway.
I don't remember the names of their characters in it in The
Devil Wears Prada, where he talks about the fashion business
and, you know, cerulean blue andyou know, you, you think you're
so you know, you're just this journalist, but you don't
(33:15):
understand the billions of dollars that go into the fashion
industry. So you look down on it, you
think you're better than it. And it was such a like, like,
wow, that's a really interestingmodel because until you're in a
particular business, you don't realize the intricacies of the
business. Like, you know, people say they
(33:37):
want an agent, let's say, but I don't think they even have a
clue of what an agent's day is like and what that agent is
doing all day long to have an agency, be a viable agent, pay
their own bills, you know, and make sure you're working.
So what's a day in the life We're going to have to do an
(33:59):
amalgamation of a week probably in a life.
But like, what does your what are your days look like,
Charlie? Well, as soon as I come in, I
mean, the first thing I do is I have to get into my e-mail and
then find out what projects are coming to us because clients are
sending projects to us daily. And they're all kinds of whether
it's print campaigns for print campaigns for, for, for not
(34:21):
films, but for TV commercials, some fashion Internet projects.
So we're going through all theseprojects we're looking to find,
OK, what are people looking for?These clients are coming every
day. They're asking for all shapes,
all sizes. So we're really going through
everything. We have to find out, OK, what
are you looking for? So I'm sitting here, I have to
go through and read them all. Then I have to submit to the
(34:41):
client to go through our talent base.
And there does the client say I'll take anyone you want to
submit or Charlie you can submitthree people on this or how do
those kind? Normally what they'll do is
they'll send a project and they'll tell us what they're
looking for. So they may say we're looking
for a certain age or a certain ethnicity, a certain type.
(35:01):
We then review what they're looking for and then we go
through our talent base and whenwe then submit to them the
talent that we think are appropriate for their projects,
that they have final say, but wekind of go through everything.
We put a list together, a package together, and then we
send it to the client. That's pretty much the
consistency of the day is the day is constantly going through
packages and submitting. We then get auditions, certain
(35:25):
talent, some talent get auditions, some talent don't we
send because we'll send a package full of talent.
The client then goes through that, that package, excuse me,
and they kind of review what they're looking for.
They then let us know, OK, we want to, we want to, we want to
meet these people, whether it's an in person audition, a self
tape audition or they want to see more pictures.
We then send, send to the talent.
(35:46):
We let the talent know, OK, you have, you now have an audition,
whether it's in person or not, or or self tape, we give them,
we send them materials. It could be sides or certain
directions as to what the clientwants them to do.
They then have to go through that, follow those directions.
They have to submit it back to us.
We then have to review it and then we submit it.
We have or we have them submit it onto a platform, a casting
(36:07):
platform. We then have to review it to
make sure it's what the client is looking for.
If we don't feel like it's appropriate, we then go back to
the talent, let them know you need to redo this.
You didn't follow specific or certain directions.
So it's a constant. We're we're going through
contracts releases, aren't they is consistent.
We're always just, it's a constant.
(36:28):
We get, I mean, we have our time, you know, to stop and we
do interviews, but it's a daily thing of just submitting, of
going through contracts. Luckily we book, we want to book
the jobs. You have to make sure that when
the talent book the jobs, they got to the location where
they're supposed to go. They understand what the fees
are going to be paid if they getpaid a certain amount, how much
they're getting paid, what percentages come to the agency,
(36:51):
what percentages they owe the agent.
There's, there's so many things,You know, we, our job is to
facilitate their needs. We, our job is, I feel like is
to look out for their best agents.
You know, that's why they have an agent.
That's why you have an agent to make sure that we look out for
you. We make sure that, you know, the
project that you're on is a goodproject.
It's a safe project. It's a project that's that's
(37:12):
marketable for you, that's liable for the client.
There's so many aspects of this industry on the agent side that
talent have absolutely no idea. But I always tell, I tell, you
know, look at it this way. You really, really want to work,
but more than you really, reallywant to work as agents, we
really, really need for you to. Work.
(37:34):
If you're not working, we're notmaking any money.
So we have to be on the same page.
And that's why you pay us a Commission because
realistically, I look at it as, as your agent, you know, our job
is look out for your best interests.
But more importantly, I feel like we as agents, we work for
you because realistically, when you book a job, you make the
(37:54):
bulk of the money. We only make a certain
percentage. The bulk of the money goes to
you. So we have to be on the same
page. You know, that's why we spend a
lot of time with our talent because we really want to know
and understand that for us, we feel like communication is
paramount. That is another one of the most
important aspects of this industry is making sure that you
communicate. It's not just about establishing
(38:15):
an, A relationship with your agent and agency, but also
maintaining that relationship, you know, and understanding it
is about patience and perseverance.
You know, it's like I said, that's why I say this is a tough
industry. It is a very tough industry.
And it's good to have someone that you can reach out to, that
you can ask questions, that you can, you know, you can bounce
things off of, you know, that iswhat we're here for.
(38:36):
You know, our job, that is, I feel like that is our job.
How do you define an agent versus a manager versus let's
say a scout, which is another? Well, a manager for me, I really
feel like a manager. Managers have changed over the
years because there used to be managers.
Now they're also management companies.
But a specific manager for me, amanager was someone that really
(39:01):
they did exactly what they did that they managed your career.
If you needed acting classes or workshops or photos, you need to
get to a shoot location, get to an audition.
That's what a manager was there for.
They managed your your life. Management companies are a
little different. They management companies can
(39:22):
have it can have a stable of talent where they have a lot of
different people that they manage.
A manager really only has a few individuals.
A manager is not going to have, you know, 50 or 60 people.
Manager is going to have a smaller client base because they
really do have to spend the timebecause they are your life
manager. Agents, our job is to actually
try and procure jobs for you, whether it's in film, TV,
(39:45):
commercials, print, print. Yeah.
So that's really what an agent agent does.
They negotiate your contracts. They pitch to casting directors,
they talk to the, you know, theygo over, they really go over the
contracts, they go through the contracts.
So an agent is really that be all end all that that agent
(40:05):
really does handle all the legalstuff, all the paperwork.
They handle everything so that you, the talent, all you have to
do is go on set and be an actor.We do everything else.
How do you the modeling act thatrecently passed, did that impact
you in any way? Did you find any changes that
you? It's so a lot of the stuff it
(40:28):
has changed. It's called the Fashion Workers
Act. OK.
So yeah, a lot of it, the industry stuff has changed.
Now it's kind of a good thing and a bad thing.
I guess to an extent it's a goodthing for the models because it
gives them more reassurance and safeguards in the industry.
So things are more, you know, more regulated for them.
You where they can only be on set for a certain amount of
(40:49):
time. They have to have breaks at
certain times, you know, having chaperones, being able to have
somebody with them or whether ona location or going to a set.
It's a, you know, it's about safeguarding the talent because
that's one of the things that I think prior to that years ago,
like they had this thing called the Coogan Act, which was
instituted especially for kids, where the Coogan Act was an act.
(41:11):
So that kids would be able to have a percentage of their, of
their monies that they made. Because a lot of times back in
the back in the old days, I think it was Jackie Coogan from
like the little rascals, where the, the, the child actors of
the olden days, their parents were the guardians of their
monies. So by the time the kids got
older, over 18, they had no, they had no money.
(41:32):
They had these fabulous careers.But then by the time they didn't
have anything to fall back on because their money, the parents
spent all the money. Now with the child labor laws,
they have a thing that's instituted where you.
Have the special kind of bank account you have to.
Have a client trust account where I think it's like 15% of
anything that a child makes automatically.
Every time they book a job or a show or a film, 15%
(41:54):
automatically goes into a special trust account that only
they can touch. When they turn 18, they can put
as much as they want in it, but mandatory, I think it's
mandatory. 15% automatically goes into this account.
So that way it's a safeguard set.
When kids turn 18, they now havesomething to fall back on.
They have their monies from all the work that they've done,
which I think is a great thing. The Fashion Workers Act is
primarily, I think, for fashion models where like I say, it's
(42:16):
more of a safeguard against certain things that happen in
the industry. It just kind of really
safeguards and to make sure thatthe models are really taken care
of where they have access to people that really can kind of
back them up. And they have, you know, they
have a law that now says, OK, you know, you're not just bound
by by what an agency says because agent we have to follow
rules and regulations as well. So it actually benefits on both
(42:39):
ends, the agency and the talent.What are the biggest changes you
think you've observed? I think honestly the biggest
change for me is, has really been the diversity, the fact
that literally all types of people are now viable
commodities in this industry. I mean, you look at it and you
literally see everything, which I think is fabulous.
(43:03):
That's one. I mean because we are, we are a
melting. We are.
Everything we are, we are absolutely a melting pot and
it's a great way, especially foradvertisers because now they can
market their products everywhere.
And you know, I tell people in this industry is, that's why I
tell people when it comes to this industry, it's not about
you. I just say that, you know, it's
not about what you want. It's not about what you think or
(43:24):
how you see yourself. You are a facilitator.
Your job is to facilitate the needs of the advertisers.
What are they looking for? They are looking for you to sell
their products. What product?
Any product, every product, it really doesn't matter age wise.
And This is why gender wise, doesn't matter if it's something
that caters to you or not, it's not about you.
(43:44):
I tell talent, look at yourself now as a product.
If I'm an advertiser and you arethe product, who do I want to
buy? You?
Anybody, Everybody. If you are, if you are, if I'm
big pens and I'm selling big pens, who do I want to buy this
pen of everybody. If you're an infant and you
want, you want a little pen likeyou know what you want, I want
(44:06):
the infant to buy that pen, But I want if you don't have, if you
don't have limbs, you have arms and legs and you or, or you have
arms and you write with your feet, I want you to buy my pen.
I don't, it doesn't matter. I don't care what planet you're
from. I want you to buy my product.
That's why I tell talent. Look at yourself as a product.
That is a great way to market yourself.
You know, don't limit yourself. There's so many things that you
(44:27):
can do and, and at the same timein this industry, your full,
your entire body becomes a viable commodity.
Because if you think about it, you see ads for everything,
whether it's hair, eyes, nose, lips, teeth, back, arms, legs,
butts, feet, every part of your body.
Oh, oh, but you know what? I have skinny arms.
I have Cellulite. I have varicose veins.
(44:48):
I have, I have corns. Who asked?
You. There's somebody who wants
those. Think about it.
Because what you don't like about yourself, someone else may
think it's perfect, maybe exactly what they're looking
for. You see ads for literally
everything. All kinds of You see bunion ads
all the time. Yeah, people with ugly feet.
Hey, those people are getting paid.
Yeah. So you think about that, you
know, that's why I tell people especially.
(45:10):
That's an eye opener right there.
Absolutely. You have to be comfortable in
your own skin. As you know, as talent we look,
I say we look at ourselves. We are our own worst critic.
That's why I say we can look in the mirror and find 1000 things
about ourselves that we don't like.
Yeah, who cares? Who asked you what you like
about yourself? Think about you know what that
that thing that you don't like about yourself.
(45:30):
Maybe the thing that takes you over the top, that makes you
buku bucks and you're like, wow,I never thought of that.
That's why I tell you have to have an open mind about this
industry. There's so many things, there's
so many avenues and venues that you can do to be successful in
this industry. But again, it falls back to
doing your homework, doing your research, and understanding the
business of show. That's such a good way to put
(45:54):
it. The business of show.
Absolutely. Yeah.
Do you ever tell people, you know, look through magazines and
Can you imagine yourself on those pages?
Can you imagine yourself with that advertiser?
Yeah, well, that's why I tell you, think about, look at all
the things that you see in the course of your day.
You see ads everywhere, whether it's on TV, on the Internet,
(46:16):
magazines, newspapers, billboards, catalogs, social
media, bus kiosks, phone kiosks,subway crawls, they're
everywhere. Ads are everywhere.
And what do you see in those people?
I mean, seeing those ads, real people, people just like you.
Now look, granted, we all can't be fashion models, you know,
we're all 5-9 or six one, you know, and stunning, you know,
(46:39):
with amazing features. But at the same time,
realistically, I tell you, especially if you think about
women, well, think about the real woman.
The average woman is the size 12.
That is the real woman. That's a that is the buying.
But that's who advertisers are catering, catering to.
That's why this industry is so immense.
It's so wide open. I, I tell people constantly, all
(47:00):
the time, don't limit yourself. The moment you limit yourself is
the moment you've knocked yourself out of this industry.
You have to have an open mind. And it, it just, it falls back
to that confidence in your, in who you are, in the person that
you are, you know, in the, in the things that you do in
everyday life. You know, you're constantly on,
we're on all the time. Think about what you do in the
(47:21):
course of the day. You know, you're always in,
you're in some way, shape or form.
You know, you're putting on airs, you're acting, believe it
or not. And I took acting is not, you
know, I don't tell when I, when I go to acting classes and I
give workshops, I took, I tell people my job is not to teach
you how to act. My job is to help you hone the
skills that you already have. I'll help you bring those skills
(47:42):
out. That's my thing.
I can't teach you how to act, but I can definitely help you
bring those skills out, help youhone those skills.
And then a world, a whole new world opens up to people that
when they realize, I didn't realize you even had that in me.
Surprise. See, if you just open yourself
up so you'd be amazed at the things that you can find out,
the things that you find out about yourself that you had no
(48:02):
idea. Like this is wonderful, you
know, and it helps build that confidence as well.
I mean, confidence is paramount in this industry.
That's why I tell people if you're not confident in
yourself, then why should anybody else be confident in
you? It starts with you and you have
to have that confidence. And that is also going back to
knowing the difference between being confident and being
(48:23):
conceited. You know the difference between
being confident and conceited. If you like I say, if you're, if
you, you know, if you are physically appealing or you, you
know, you have talent that's confident, that's being
confident and being sure, being sure in yourself.
You have to have that. It starts with you and it ends
with you. You have to look at it that way.
(48:45):
The time for these interviews always goes beyond too fast, you
know, just way too fast. Charlie.
What? What would be what would be the
take away for someone who wants to get into the entertainment
business? They want to either become a
model, they want to be an agent.What would you say to them?
(49:07):
I'm going to use the Nike sloganJust do it.
It's that's just do it. Show up.
Show up. Show up.
That's my whole thing. Just do it, because you never
know until you try. It's a good rule, absolutely.
It's a good, it's a good rule inlife.
(49:27):
I think so. You know and and.
And be open, you know, just. Be and you might not make it on
the first try either. You know, it's that idea of the
as you discuss the persistence, the showing up, you know, just
keep staying current with your looks, your.
And look at yourself as a sponge.
You know you are a sponge. Soak it all in, take in as much
(49:47):
as you can. You are constantly learning new
things every day in everyday life.
You are. If you are not constantly
learning, then it's time for youto do something else.
Then you'll need to be here anymore.
But you have to look at it that way.
That's what life is all about. You know, it's, it's learning
new things all the time, every day.
It's constant. That's, I think that's our goal.
That's why we're here, is to constantly be learning new
(50:09):
things. These are the things that give
us, you know, reason for life. That's what life is all about,
100%. Thank you so much, Charlie
Winfield, my. Pleasure.
Thank you. It's been, it's been wonderful.
It really has been. It really has been.
I have been spending this time today during this episode with
Charlie Winfield. He's the co-owner of FFT Models.
(50:31):
He's been a long time agent. He was a childhood actor.
He joined truly. This is if you know anyone who
wants to be in the world of modeling, print commercials,
entertainment, acting, you should have them see this
episode before they do anything else because he shared such good
industry insights for everyone. I'm Diane Grisell.
(50:53):
This is the silver disobedience perception dynamics podcast.
There will be links to find Charlie to follow him on social
media to get to his website. They will all be below this
episode. Please share it, hit subscribe.
And thank you, Charlie Winfield.Not all my pleasure and thank
you.
Hi. Have you ever wondered what it
would take to become a celebrity, a star?
What about if your children wanted to do this?
In the world we live in today, you could say everyone thinks
they're a star because we've gotsocial media proliferating and
(00:23):
creating a lot of illusion. But today my guest Charlie
Winfield who is the co-owner of FFT Models and a very long time
agent who was a child actor is going to shed light on what the
world of acting modeling commercials really means and
(00:46):
what it takes. So thank you very much, Charlie.
Not at all. My pleasure.
Glad to be here. OK.
I'm sure you deal with people all day long who say I have what
it takes or I take a nice picture.
I want to be a model. What's your first response to
that? It's not about what you want,
(01:09):
what you think or even how you see yourself.
It's about this industry and what people are looking for.
It's about realistically, about you being a facilitator, you
being able to facilitate the needs of the advertisers.
What are they looking for? They want you to be able to sell
their products. What product?
Any product, every product. It doesn't matter age wise,
ethnicity wise or gender wise. I really talk.
(01:31):
It is not really about you at all, it's about the product.
Think about yourself, you're a real person, appetizer looking
to sell their products to real people.
What is it about you that makes you a viable commodity in this
industry? The fact that you are a real
person. That simple.
As long as you have the passion and desire that you really want
to do this. I mean it is about commitment as
well. This has to be something you're
really serious about because realistically I tell everybody,
(01:54):
look at it this way, it's calledshow business, but you get none
of the show without the business.
Oh, good point. Absolutely.
What does that business look like?
What are the tools? Someone who presents themself to
you says, oh, Charlie, you're anagent.
You own an agency. My I want my child to be a
(02:16):
model. I know they have what it takes
to be a star. How do you respond to that?
Realistically, I feel like it's,I mean, everybody does feel
like, oh, you know, their kids want to get into this, this
industry. This is something they really
want to do. But it really does start with
the child. I mean, it really does.
They have to be the ones who really want to do this, not
because mom and dad want them todo this, but because they show
that passion, that desire. A lot of times, if you really
(02:39):
pay attention to your kids, you'll be amazed at the things
that they do just in their regular course of the day.
And you see, wow, they really dohave an aptitude for this.
This is something that you know what they might gravitate
towards this, you know, they're outgoing, they're engaging and
they're just full of energy. And that's that's the thing I've
noticed. Like when I started out in this
industry, my parents hated the fact that I was wanted to be in
this, but I was one of those silly kids.
(03:01):
You know, I did things like I would go into supermarkets and
put put things in other people'sshopping carts in department
stores and I would hide in the racks and, and I would people
take the clothes out. I would pull their clothes back
in. My dad thought I was just super
silly, but my mom thought it wasadorable.
So she like, you know what, he'sgot a lot of energy.
I'm going to put him in acting classes and just see what
(03:22):
happens. And once they did that, they put
me in there. I never looked back and.
And what did those early state? Let's start with you.
What did those early days look like as a child actor for you?
It started out like really with a lot of commercials.
I did commercials and my parentsgot me into roller skating at a
really young age. That was one of the things that
I seem to really just gravitate towards, and I actually roller
(03:46):
skate to this day. So I actually did a lot of stuff
as a roller skater, but initially started out as a child
actor where I was just doing basically just a lot of
commercials, which was great. I enjoyed it, had a good time.
It was just something I I got into this industry and I never
looked back. Yeah, but for kids, you know, we
scout a lot of kids all the time.
I travel all over the country scouting kids when we go to
(04:07):
conventions and it's amazing theenergy that some of these kids
have. And you really see their passion
and desire. And I'm amazed at how talented
some of these people are. And they have these kids are and
they have no idea until you really get in front of them.
You're like, Oh my goodness, your diamonds in the rough.
I mean, so this is a really goodindustry for kids and adults as
well. But I find the kids are a lot
because they're new, they're fresh.
(04:29):
They just seem to have a lot more energy And they have, no,
they have no embarrassment. No, they're just, they just have
that energy. They want to do this.
They really show that passion. That's really the biggest thing
for me is the kids really just show that they have that passion
and desire. And you know, you can tell right
away. We meet kids all the time who
think they want to be in this industry until they get in front
of somebody and they just clam down.
They're quiet, you know, they become very reserved and shy.
(04:51):
But then some kids just are justfull of beans and it's like, Oh
my goodness, They they just engaging in incredibly it's,
it's wonderful. I love it.
You know, and how do, how do youthink imagination plays in there
for a young child? I think it's paramount.
I mean, that's key. I remember, you know, because my
parents used to read books to uswhen we were little kids and
they would act out the characters.
(05:13):
I tell everybody, you know, that's a great way to kind of
segue your kids into this because reading is a great
thing, especially for the kids because it's a great way for
them to act out these charactersin the books.
I do it all the time. I still do it.
I think it's fabulous. I think kids should definitely
do that. It's also part of their training
and they start, they start at that early age.
Those are ways you can tell right away to those are really
(05:35):
good signs and keys to tell. And a lot of times you just see
kids who are just, you know, I was one of those kids who when
music came on, my mom and dad loved music.
So they put on the record playerand next thing you know, I'm in
the corner somewhere dancing andjust doing my thing.
And they were, you know, having those video cameras.
My dad used to have the old, it was old fashioned video
recorders that he would play it,he'd pull out a big screen and
(05:58):
put it on the screen and we would just go back and watch all
we think out. And I thought it would be
embarrassed seeing myself, but Iactually kind of got a kick out
of seeing myself. So I would do little skits.
I just had a blast with it. And I see a lot of kids still
doing that now, especially with the onset of social media,
TikTok and all these things I see.
So it's a great way for the kidsto really get into the industry.
So I always say, I do always saythough, it's got to be with the
(06:20):
kids first. And what would a kid be required
to do if they wanted to approachan agent like you?
Now, obviously you said you'd goaround and you attend a lot of
events where you're scouting or you're teaching and you're
educating and explaining the industry.
How does somebody, what do they have to send Someone Like You?
(06:42):
Well, the initial way to submit now is at our agency we have a
website. So people just submit on the
website. They can Google agencies and
then FFT models dot NYC. Yeah, they just check our
website, see the kind of things that we do and it gives them a
little background about the agency, how long we've been in
business and the kind of things that we do and what we look for.
(07:03):
Because of the type of agency that we are.
We work with all types. We do it.
We kind of call it from the wombto the tomb.
Yeah, we have a little bit of everything from newborn infants
all the way up to octogenarians.People are, you know, 80 plus
years old and we pride ourselveson diversity as well because we
have all ethnicities, all shapes, all sizes.
We have kids in wheelchairs, people with missing limbs,
(07:23):
various ailments, alopecia, there's all kinds of things.
So it's a wide open industry now.
So that's one of the best thingsabout this, that it's opened up
so much, especially market wise because you know, clients are
trying to advertise to everybodynow.
So what a great way to get into this industry and you can also
have a lot of longevity and you can do this forever.
This is a great industry for longevity, I would say, as long
(07:45):
as this as it's something you understand and you really do
your research and homework and you can really see just how
marketable you are because there's so many things in this
industry that you can do that people just have no idea until
they really do their research and homework.
That's one of the biggest thingsabout this industry is we always
tell people make sure that you know, you do your research, do
your homework because it is a business and you need to learn
(08:06):
and know as much as you can. What, what does that research
involve? What do you think the main
things people need to learn? Obviously they need to learn
posing, getting comfortable in front of a camera, but what else
are you would you say are key things you would say to somebody
you know you just need to learn more?
(08:27):
Realistically, I think it startsin life.
I mean, it starts with life, butas a training, I would always
say get into an acting class. You know, it starts when kids
are in school, plays, church recitals, community theater.
There's all kinds of things thatyou can do to kind of segue
yourself into this industry. It's about being comfortable
number one in front of the camera.
That's one of the biggest thingsis to make sure you're
(08:48):
comfortable in the front, in front of the camera and you can
really see how photogenic you are.
It's a really good way to kind of get yourself in this
industry. Yeah, 'cause usually what
happens with us is when parents are interested or even just, you
know, adults are interested, they submit pictures to us on
our website and we just have them submit to regular pictures,
(09:09):
not professional picture to something that, you know, you
take every day, a nice smiling face shot and then a full body
shot. And then we, we review those
pictures, we go through them, welook to see what is it about
you. You know, we're looking for your
uniqueness, your authenticity. Are you marketable?
Are you a type of talent that wesee working every day?
So, you know, we have to pay attention to the climate of the
industry as well because you know, it's, it's a tough
(09:31):
industry. I do tell people that
realistically 90% of the people that submit to the agency get
rejected. But at the same time, it is
about confidence as well, knowing the difference between
being confident and being conceited as we all.
Know that's a. That's a good point.
Yes, absolutely. Well, I mean, because it starts
with that because that's what clients are really looking for.
(09:53):
You have to be able to show thatyou are confident and
comfortable in your own skin because, you know, we are our
own worst critics. We can look in the mirror and
find things about ourself that you know, we don't like.
But at the same time, you have to also remember it.
This is a very subjective industry.
What we may not like about ourselves, someone else may
think is perfect, maybe exactly what we're looking for.
So you have to have that confidence that shows that this
(10:14):
is what I want to do, you know, and not be conceited about it.
You know, if you're an attractive person or a talented
person, it's OK to say or feel that you're attractive or that
you're confident that you have, that you're good at what you do,
that you're skilled. That's wonderful.
That's the kind of confidence that not only that we look for,
but the advertisers as well, because I tell town, you know,
we only look as good as you makeus look.
Right. You know, and that's such a
(10:36):
funny point because I think you also need the thick skin in a
few ways. But one of them is to actually,
when you actually see the end result of a campaign and
sometimes you think, Oh my gosh,they really chose that picture.
You never know. Could I have looked more wrinkly
if they tried? That's what somebody wanted.
(10:59):
Yeah, no, it's absolutely true. Yeah.
Because, you know, that's, I think that really is the thing
about that confidence, because Itell people #1 like you said,
you better have a thick skin. If you want to be in this
industry, you better have a thick skin.
And you better have a thick skinnow because this industry will
chew you up and spit you out. And it's not to belittle or
demean or hurt your feelings. It's just the nature of the
business. But what will they want when
(11:20):
they want it? So, you know, you have to have
that kind of thick skin because,you know, like I said, this is
this is a really competitive industry.
There are tons of people that want to be in this industry.
But also takes a special kind ofperson to really have the
intestinal fortitude to persevere.
Perseverance. It's that's paramount.
You know, this has to be something, you know, hey, it may
not happen overnight. It may not happen next week,
(11:42):
next month or next year. You will pay your dues.
Believe me, you will pay your dues.
It does happen for some people, you know, occasionally it
happens like, wow, I got into this industry and all of a
sudden I just blew up. But for the majority of us, it
takes time. It takes, it takes a lot of
sweat, tears, a lot of disappointment.
You will get your back bend all out of shape.
You know, you'll get your lips all poked out.
(12:02):
Nobody wants me. Nobody thinks I'm talented.
That's where it goes back to. It's not about you.
You want to do this, you have tostick to it.
It's all about that. I tell everybody it's all about
patience and perseverance. You're not.
You're not successful in anything unless you really work
at it. Doesn't just fall in your lap.
And there are so many decision makers involved in something.
There's the cat, there's the agent that chooses to represent
(12:25):
you. There's the casting agent that
says they'll see you or not. Then there's the client.
Or there might be the advertising agency in between
the client. Then there's who knows how many
players at the agency or the client you know it's a.
Oh, yeah, Notice that there's a order of hierarchy.
And I tell, I tell her about talent.
You're a low man on totem pole. You are the last one that
(12:46):
everybody is concerned about, you know, so you just have to
make sure you understand that's part of the business learning of
this industry is knowing that, hey, you know, as the actor, as
the talent, I am low man on totem pole.
You know, there is always going to be someone above me that's
going to have the final say. We all have someone to answer
to. So it really just depends.
Like I said, you know what people are or looking for it.
You know, you never there's no rhyme or reason to this industry
(13:08):
whatsoever. So somebody needs thick skin,
they need perseverance, they need and confidence, not
conceit. What else would you say?
Well, once, once you have all that, yeah, acting classes, then
you want to work on, you know, depending on what you do
initially, it's always going to be your pictures.
That's one of the main tools in this industry are going to be
(13:30):
your photographs, your picture and resume.
For actors, they need a headshotthat has a resume for for people
who want to be models, dependingon what type of model.
They used to use comp cards backin the but now everything is
digital. So everything is on websites
now. So as long as you have a good,
you have good pictures that you can submit to an agency that has
a variety of different pictures.It's really about that because I
(13:52):
told her about, it's about it's your versatility in your
pictures that enhances your marketability, which in turn
gives you longevity. Because you can work in this
industry forever as long as you understand how to market
yourself and show people that you're not one-dimensional.
Because in this industry, if youallow people to pigeonhole you,
that's exactly what they will do.
You know, as agents, I feel likeour job is to not allow you to
(14:15):
pigeonhole yourself to really help you broaden that gap and
show, hey, look, there are so many things that about you that
are viable. There's a ton of things that you
can do in this industry. Don't limit yourself because
once you limit yourself, you pretty much have, you know, you
pretty much knocked yourself outof the game.
It's you have to open yourself to all types of aspects of this
industry. So all types of aspects and we
(14:36):
were talking about keeping your pictures current and you have to
have a good headshot. How has the social media filter
impacted when you can remove every wrinkle?
You can change your hair color, you can change your eye color,
You can remove 10 lbs if you wanted and lengthen your legs.
But you know what I mean? You can do that, but really it's
(14:58):
you do all that and then you getin front of the person and all
of a sudden you don't present yourself the same way.
Like, wait, that's not the same person.
That's that was in that picture.Your hair color is different,
your your eye color, you've you've gained weight, lost
weight. There are all these different
things that social media to me and become it has become the
bane of our existence. You know, it's kind of there's
5050. Some people love it, some people
(15:19):
hate it. It has its benefits.
It has its detriments. I'm kind of in the middle.
You know, it does has it has some good benefits, but I'm old
school. I come from the days of, you
know, I want a good picture. And then when I when I bring, I
mean, could you look at that picture I told you think about
it's that old saying don't judgea book by its cover.
(15:40):
But I tell bright in this industry, that's exactly what we
do. That's the first thing that we
do because we don't know you, you know, we're going to judge
you. So you want to make sure that
picture is a good representationof you, because when we're
looking at pictures, you know, we're really going through these
pictures. We're not sitting here kind of
Hemming and hawing. Well, you know, what if, oh, it
could be, well, maybe I tell everybody if it, it takes that
(16:02):
much time, if it takes any time for me to sit there and look at
your picture, I need to know right off the bat, this is a
viable person. This is a marketable person.
What is it about them? And I see, and I have to think
of it this way. I have to look at it and I have
to make quick decisions. I, if I, if I, I tell people, I
look at your picture and I'm hesitating, I have any
hesitation. Realistically, it's a no.
It's that simple. I should be able to look at a
(16:24):
picture and I should be able to instantly and automatically see,
you know what? There's something about this
person because in that picture it's about you being engaging.
My first thing is when I look atthat picture I'm looking at, I
want to see what is it about this person that appeals to me.
I don't know this person. I've never seen them before.
But I look at that picture and the very first thing that should
come to my mind, that looks likea nice person.
(16:45):
I know it sounds simple, but it really is because that's all I
have to go on. Now, if I look at that picture
and I go, oh, you look like a nice person.
I then decide, you know what, I'm going to bring that person
to meet with them. Well, then that's when I finally
realized, OK, well, you know what?
That person came in and they weren't as engaging or as
appealing as I thought they initially were.
But that picture is what is the first step to get your foot in
(17:08):
the door. So that to me is the most
important aspect of this industry is making sure that you
have a good picture that represents you in a positive and
in a way that really represents who you really are and what your
personality is really like. Do you have people who submit
using the Shawshank Redemption approach of?
I'm going to send FFT models my picture every single day until I
(17:30):
get. Well, you know what?
We used to? Because before used to, we used
to get tons of mail literally every day of submissions of
people standing in headshots andcommon cards.
But with social media and with the onset of the Internet,
everything is digital now. So, you know, every agency has
websites. So now that is the really the
only way that you really submit.Occasionally I do still get
(17:51):
snail mail for people sending inhead shots and comp cards.
Like wow, who even uses a headshot anymore or who uses a
comp card? I, I do kind of like it because
like I said, you know, going back old school, I like a
headshot. I like a comp card because it's
a really good way, a good visualto see what this person like and
what you look like in print. That's a really good thing
(18:12):
because you know, we don't all take a fabulous picture.
You may look good in person, butwe take a photograph.
It becomes something to so you know you have to be aware of
these. Things and some people look
better on in pictures versus video where video you know they
need that animation to you know oh. 100% yeah.
But you know, so that's why I say it really is, you know, you
do have to have a good picture and you also it's important to
(18:34):
know how to take a a good picture.
What is it that makes a good picture?
Because. What do you think makes a good
picture? For me, I look at one of the
first things I look at. I look at the eyes.
That's the first thing I look at.
It sounds very corny. It sounds cliched.
But definitely, can somebody getlight into their eyes?
(18:54):
Absolutely. The eyes are the windows to the
world. I can look at a picture and I
look in those eyes and right away those eyes say something to
you. Your eyes should speak to me.
That's I'm looking for. Do you ever look at a picture?
Sometimes and you get a picture,you look at it and it has that
that the dough in the headlight look, we look at the pictures
kind of like hello, exactly. It looks vacant.
That reads. I mean, we look at that because
(19:15):
it kind of if you look vacant inin in your pictures, we're going
to bring, but that's what you'regoing to be like in person.
You know, my thing is I want to see, I love to see a big smile.
I love them like because that says to me right off the bat,
that looks like a nice person. Now, when you come in, you might
be a jerk or, you know, not a not a nice person.
But like I said again, that picture is your initial thing.
(19:36):
That's what gets your foot in the door.
The rest is up to you, but that picture is paramount is the most
important aspect of this industry in my opinion.
It's funny when you talk about going from comcords to digital,
I mean, I'm always amazed with aany kind of agent that's as
busy, busy as you are at FFT andyou've got all these, you know,
(19:59):
castings you're trying to sit, you know, casting agents saying,
you know, I've got this, I've got this, I've got this.
I mean to me. I know when I have to edit a
book, I have to print it. I have to cut it into things.
I have to say, you know, this really belongs over in this
chapter. And this I should have put in,
you know, the opening or I can'timagine it's to me, it's got to
(20:21):
be more difficult doing it digitally.
I almost could imagine that if you had a bunch of comp cards,
you could say, oh, they shoot company.
I can just pile all these peopleand think about it and, you
know, this lipstick, oh, these would be interesting people for
this, you know? But I, I mean, digitally now it
is, it is a lot. I guess it's, it makes it easier
(20:43):
on us because we can really go through the pictures.
It's easier to kind of just do it, go through boom, boom, boom
can knock them right out, you know, and we can tell right
away. Like, OK, you know what, we can
kind of put a mark on this one. All right, we're going to, we're
interested in this one. We're kind of interested in this
one. This one's an absolute no, so we
kind of know it. It does make it a little easier
where you're not having to go through a bunch of pictures on a
regular basis all the time the Internet, because we can just
zoom right through them and we do we really do and I, you know,
(21:06):
we get hundreds of submissions daily.
We do look at every single submission that comes in, but
we're also very particular aboutthe talent that we work with
because one of the biggest things that we tell people is
it's about following directions more.
That's a key thing in this industry is being able to follow
directions. Even on our website, we have
(21:26):
specific pictures that we want you to submit to us so that we
can view. And I know it's going to sound
terrible, but we, you know, whena picture comes.
In somebody out that can't follow directions.
Very easy because we go, OK, youhave, you have a visual example
of what we want you to submit. You would not believe the
submissions that we get where people send in all kinds of
(21:47):
crazy pictures and they're nothing like the examples that
we've asked. And honestly, I tell them if I,
if I look at a picture like thatright off the bat and you're not
following directions, it's a no because it says to me, why would
I take a chance on my reputation?
I value my reputation. We only have all we have to go
on is our reputation. And I look at it and go, well,
if I can't, if I put directions out and I want you to send a
(22:09):
picture like this and you can't follow the simple, a simple
direction like that, then I can't take a chance that I can
represent you or send you out toa client.
You might be able to. You might not follow directions
for them. I believe it because I've hired
people my whole life and I anytime I would hire people, I
would say, you know, cover letter mandatory along because I
and, and I always said make it original.
(22:31):
I don't want a standard cover letter.
I want to know that somebody read the job description, that
they understand how they fit. And it was always so easy when
people say, how come, you know, I printed off?
Because I always needed to look at them printed.
I'm a paper waster. You know, the pile could have
been this high and all of a sudden in the afternoon it's
this high. Then people would say, how'd you
(22:51):
go through those that fast? I'm like, they didn't include a
cover letter or it's the standard cut and paste cover
letter that they called me John,you know, or you know, Dick
instead of Diane. I'm like, you know, if you can't
proofread, if you can't do thesethings, it's very easy to go
into the pay no mine pile. Yes, I mean it sounds, it does
sound terrible like. No it doesn't, because it's a
first hurdle. Absolutely.
(23:12):
And you don't get paid unless someone gets the job and then
does a good job and hopefully wants to get hired again by that
company or another company. Absolutely. 100%.
You know, I remember one of my first what somebody at one point
when I was in like, I don't know, 19 or 20 said you would be
(23:34):
a good HR person. And I remember I sent my first
person out for a job as a secretary, and I called her up
after and she says to me, well, you know, I was 45 minutes late.
I'm like, I can't do this. This is not an industry for me.
I cannot rely that my income is going to be based on whether
someone can get to the job on time.
(23:56):
Absolutely, absolutely. So God bless you, Charlie.
You've got a lot of patience. Yeah.
Well, you know what, I think in this industry you have to.
You do and you have a great demeanor.
You're like Josh, the chief engineer here.
You guys like have these personalities that are mind
blowing that you're you're chill.
Well. You know what I think honestly,
my thing is I really enjoy what I do.
(24:19):
I love what I do. This is, you know, I couldn't do
anything else there. You know, I had, there was a
time where I was sitting behind a desk and I was doing a nine to
five and pushing paper and I waslike, you know what, this is
just not for me. Even my parents, when my dad,
when I when as an actor, when itcame time to go to college, I
took a year off. When I graduated, I took a year
off from school. I was like, OK, Papa, you know,
(24:40):
I don't want to do this. You know, I want to, I'm going
to go right to college. I want to relax.
And my dad was a little disappointed, but in all my
years, he had seen all the things that I had done, how I
progressed as an actor. This thing was, look, I want you
to go to college so you could have something else to fall back
on if this doesn't work out. I said, OK, fine.
So I went for a couple years. I realized, you know what,
(25:01):
college is not a thing for me because my dad was a computer
programmer, and, you know, he was doing flow charts and pie
charts. I'm like, OK, I have no idea
what this is. This is not for me.
I need to get back in front of the camera.
So I wound up getting another show that took me overseas.
And he was like, OK, you know what?
You've been doing really well with this industry.
You've been a great kid. You never caused me any drama,
(25:22):
any problem. You know what, OK, knock
yourself out. And once I decided to become an
agent. That's what I want to know.
Where was the crossover from being the actor to the agent?
Let's see, I stopped acting around the age of 20, probably
like 21, because actually, unfortunately, something
happened to me in the industry that was somewhat traumatizing.
(25:44):
And I decided, you know what, Asan actor with what happened to
me, it hit me enough that I decided, you know what?
I don't think being in front of the camera is where I want to be
anymore. I want to make sure that what
happened to me in the industry doesn't happen to someone else.
So I want to really learn as much as I can about this entry
and be a segue for talent who want to get into this and be
(26:05):
there to kind of help them bridge the gap and kind of
maneuver in this industry because it's a tough industry.
It's very competitive, it's verytough industry.
And my parents knew nothing about this industry when they
got me into it. So I decided, you know what, I
think my purposes would better be served behind the camera as
opposed to in front of the camera.
And I've never looked back. You know, it's been, I've loved
(26:26):
it. I started out as a junior agent.
I'm worked my way up to an agentworking at an agency, got
relocated to Los Angeles, CA wasout there for 9 years and I call
it doing time I was in LALA was not my cup of tea.
I am a tried and true New Yorker.
But you know, I put, I invested 9 years, I had a great time.
(26:46):
I had some wonderful times out there.
I had some times out there, but when it was time to come back to
New York, I was more than ready.And, you know, I've been back
here ever since and I've never looked back.
And I mean, I, I love the energyof New York.
I realize this is where I need to be.
And at the same time, I personally feel like I'm a
little biased. I feel like the best talent is
(27:08):
here in New York because realistically, on the West
Coast, it's kind of like being asmall fish in a giant pond.
Because, you know, anybody wantsto get in this industry, one of
the first thing they do is, oh, you know, I want to go to Lai
want to be discovered. Well, OK, great.
But everybody and mother is thinking the same way.
But here on the East Coast, it'sa little different because I
think agents, casting directors,producers direct, they really
(27:31):
know if you're going to get talent, the best talent in my
opinion is on the way is out here on the East Coast.
Because here on the East Coast, I feel like this is where the
best training is. There's a lot of work on the
West Coast, but at the same timethere's not as much work here on
the East Coast. But what is here.
And I think when most people in the industry realizes that the
(27:52):
best training, like I said, I'm biased.
I feel like the best training ishere in New York.
And training as far as classes. Classes thing, improv, comedy,
any aspect to learn this industry, it's here in my
opinion. And again, yes, I'm biased, but
I do feel like the best trainingis here.
There is so much, there is so much.
(28:14):
It's it's easy to get to. Yes, it's priced at all
different levels. So you know, if if you're
willing to invest in a career, budget should not be your
object. Here's that cliche.
If you can make it here, you canmake it anywhere.
The New York is no joke. This is a tough town, but it
(28:35):
takes a special kind of person to really be successful here in
New York City. You know, that's where that
patience and perseverance comes in.
You know, you do it here. I feel like, hey, once you once
you've got here and you can takethe world by storm, you know,
but it's, I feel like it starts here in New York because New
York is a tough town. You know, we all know that it's
a tough town, but you know, it'strue.
If you can make it here, you canmake it anywhere.
(28:56):
I believe that 100%. Do you think there's points
where actors crossover from let's say printer, commercials
or television? Like how did?
How does that all work? In some of the career can be
all-encompassing. I think all the skills that you
have in your daily life can alsokind of bridge into any aspect
(29:18):
of this industry, whether you are a musician, you're a singer,
you're a dancer, you're a model.They all kind of play hand in
hand. Because realistically it's it's
almost like you're a Jack of alltrades, master of none.
You know, you do a little bit ofeverything.
One of the things that kind of turns me off is sometimes people
come in and, you know, ask them,well, what is your goal?
What do you want to do? Oh, well, you know, I just want
(29:41):
to do this or I just want to do that.
Well, once I hear you just want to do, you just want to do this,
just want to do that, that says to me, you, you're, you've
instantly limited yourself and that's my and my, and that
becomes to me, that becomes a turn off because it says to me
that you're not really invested in this because you never know
what people are looking for. So why not learn as much as you
(30:03):
can about do everything? You know, it's not to say you
have to master it all, but at least be familiar with it.
You know, when I got into the industry, you know, as an actor,
well, I knew good and well I could not sing.
My I still Can't Sing. So.
And I, you know, so I did audition for projects that were
singing, you know, and people were very real.
And they were like, hey, look, you know, you're adorable, but
(30:24):
don't you have to do that again?There's no singing for you.
I know I'm tone deaf, but you know, but I did, I tried, you
know, I learned to play, try andplay a musical instrument.
I took dance classes. You know, I'm an artist.
I draw, I roller skate, I play golf.
I mean, I try and do as much as I can.
I try not to limit myself. And I tell talent the same
(30:45):
thing. Don't limit yourself, you know,
do a little bit of everything because you never know what
people looking for. We get all types of talents in
this industry, so don't limit yourself.
There's so many, there are probably things that you realize
that you know you can do that you really have never even tried
before. Limiting yourself again to me is
something that will, you know, that cancel you out of this
industry. You have to be open to doing
(31:07):
everything. You may not, like I said, you
may not be a professional, you may not be great at it, but at
the same time at least try, you know, because if you don't try,
then you don't, you know, there's no opportunity and
there's no such thing as failure.
You know, I, I don't even use that word in this industry at
all. There's nothing about, there's
no failure. You work at this until you know,
until you, it's just what you do.
You move here. It's, it's a constant.
(31:28):
I, I feel like it's a constant. You are always working on your
craft. You are never going to get to a
point where you feel like, OK, Ithink I've learned everything I
can know about this industry. I say I feel like as long as
I've been in this industry, I learn new things every single
day. I learn from new, from novice
talent that comes in this industry because I feel like the
moment I feel like I know everything in this industry,
that's when I know it's time forme to move on and do something
(31:50):
else. So as long as I'm constantly
learning, I feel like that's what keeps me young.
That's what keeps my energy going.
I love what I do. I enjoy it.
You know, I have my downs too. You know, I want to, I want, I
want all the best talent. I want to book all the jobs.
You know, realistically that's not going to happen.
But at least I know, you know, I'm in the game and I love that.
(32:11):
You know, my excitement, my success comes from the talent
seeing that they engage in this and that they're successful
because their success makes me feel successful.
And that's all I ask for. You know what's so funny?
You just used a phrase. The last book I wrote was called
Mastering the Rules of the Game,and it's a business book.
(32:32):
But when people say, you know, what keeps you going, I'm like,
why? I'm playing the game.
And people say, what do you meanby that?
I'm like, I don't know how to describe it, but it's a game and
I just want to play it. And I want to know every day I'm
getting a little better at winning that game.
And it's like this. But when people think, I think
(32:52):
of, I was thinking fashion of the monologue that I think it
was Santucci, you know, gives Anne Hathaway.
I don't remember the names of their characters in it in The
Devil Wears Prada, where he talks about the fashion business
and, you know, cerulean blue andyou know, you, you think you're
so you know, you're just this journalist, but you don't
(33:15):
understand the billions of dollars that go into the fashion
industry. So you look down on it, you
think you're better than it. And it was such a like, like,
wow, that's a really interestingmodel because until you're in a
particular business, you don't realize the intricacies of the
business. Like, you know, people say they
(33:37):
want an agent, let's say, but I don't think they even have a
clue of what an agent's day is like and what that agent is
doing all day long to have an agency, be a viable agent, pay
their own bills, you know, and make sure you're working.
So what's a day in the life We're going to have to do an
(33:59):
amalgamation of a week probably in a life.
But like, what does your what are your days look like,
Charlie? Well, as soon as I come in, I
mean, the first thing I do is I have to get into my e-mail and
then find out what projects are coming to us because clients are
sending projects to us daily. And they're all kinds of whether
it's print campaigns for print campaigns for, for, for not
(34:21):
films, but for TV commercials, some fashion Internet projects.
So we're going through all theseprojects we're looking to find,
OK, what are people looking for?These clients are coming every
day. They're asking for all shapes,
all sizes. So we're really going through
everything. We have to find out, OK, what
are you looking for? So I'm sitting here, I have to
go through and read them all. Then I have to submit to the
(34:41):
client to go through our talent base.
And there does the client say I'll take anyone you want to
submit or Charlie you can submitthree people on this or how do
those kind? Normally what they'll do is
they'll send a project and they'll tell us what they're
looking for. So they may say we're looking
for a certain age or a certain ethnicity, a certain type.
(35:01):
We then review what they're looking for and then we go
through our talent base and whenwe then submit to them the
talent that we think are appropriate for their projects,
that they have final say, but wekind of go through everything.
We put a list together, a package together, and then we
send it to the client. That's pretty much the
consistency of the day is the day is constantly going through
packages and submitting. We then get auditions, certain
(35:25):
talent, some talent get auditions, some talent don't we
send because we'll send a package full of talent.
The client then goes through that, that package, excuse me,
and they kind of review what they're looking for.
They then let us know, OK, we want to, we want to, we want to
meet these people, whether it's an in person audition, a self
tape audition or they want to see more pictures.
We then send, send to the talent.
(35:46):
We let the talent know, OK, you have, you now have an audition,
whether it's in person or not, or or self tape, we give them,
we send them materials. It could be sides or certain
directions as to what the clientwants them to do.
They then have to go through that, follow those directions.
They have to submit it back to us.
We then have to review it and then we submit it.
We have or we have them submit it onto a platform, a casting
(36:07):
platform. We then have to review it to
make sure it's what the client is looking for.
If we don't feel like it's appropriate, we then go back to
the talent, let them know you need to redo this.
You didn't follow specific or certain directions.
So it's a constant. We're we're going through
contracts releases, aren't they is consistent.
We're always just, it's a constant.
(36:28):
We get, I mean, we have our time, you know, to stop and we
do interviews, but it's a daily thing of just submitting, of
going through contracts. Luckily we book, we want to book
the jobs. You have to make sure that when
the talent book the jobs, they got to the location where
they're supposed to go. They understand what the fees
are going to be paid if they getpaid a certain amount, how much
they're getting paid, what percentages come to the agency,
(36:51):
what percentages they owe the agent.
There's, there's so many things,You know, we, our job is to
facilitate their needs. We, our job is, I feel like is
to look out for their best agents.
You know, that's why they have an agent.
That's why you have an agent to make sure that we look out for
you. We make sure that, you know, the
project that you're on is a goodproject.
It's a safe project. It's a project that's that's
(37:12):
marketable for you, that's liable for the client.
There's so many aspects of this industry on the agent side that
talent have absolutely no idea. But I always tell, I tell, you
know, look at it this way. You really, really want to work,
but more than you really, reallywant to work as agents, we
really, really need for you to. Work.
(37:34):
If you're not working, we're notmaking any money.
So we have to be on the same page.
And that's why you pay us a Commission because
realistically, I look at it as, as your agent, you know, our job
is look out for your best interests.
But more importantly, I feel like we as agents, we work for
you because realistically, when you book a job, you make the
(37:54):
bulk of the money. We only make a certain
percentage. The bulk of the money goes to
you. So we have to be on the same
page. You know, that's why we spend a
lot of time with our talent because we really want to know
and understand that for us, we feel like communication is
paramount. That is another one of the most
important aspects of this industry is making sure that you
communicate. It's not just about establishing
(38:15):
an, A relationship with your agent and agency, but also
maintaining that relationship, you know, and understanding it
is about patience and perseverance.
You know, it's like I said, that's why I say this is a tough
industry. It is a very tough industry.
And it's good to have someone that you can reach out to, that
you can ask questions, that you can, you know, you can bounce
things off of, you know, that iswhat we're here for.
(38:36):
You know, our job, that is, I feel like that is our job.
How do you define an agent versus a manager versus let's
say a scout, which is another? Well, a manager for me, I really
feel like a manager. Managers have changed over the
years because there used to be managers.
Now they're also management companies.
But a specific manager for me, amanager was someone that really
(39:01):
they did exactly what they did that they managed your career.
If you needed acting classes or workshops or photos, you need to
get to a shoot location, get to an audition.
That's what a manager was there for.
They managed your your life. Management companies are a
little different. They management companies can
(39:22):
have it can have a stable of talent where they have a lot of
different people that they manage.
A manager really only has a few individuals.
A manager is not going to have, you know, 50 or 60 people.
Manager is going to have a smaller client base because they
really do have to spend the timebecause they are your life
manager. Agents, our job is to actually
try and procure jobs for you, whether it's in film, TV,
(39:45):
commercials, print, print. Yeah.
So that's really what an agent agent does.
They negotiate your contracts. They pitch to casting directors,
they talk to the, you know, theygo over, they really go over the
contracts, they go through the contracts.
So an agent is really that be all end all that that agent
(40:05):
really does handle all the legalstuff, all the paperwork.
They handle everything so that you, the talent, all you have to
do is go on set and be an actor.We do everything else.
How do you the modeling act thatrecently passed, did that impact
you in any way? Did you find any changes that
you? It's so a lot of the stuff it
(40:28):
has changed. It's called the Fashion Workers
Act. OK.
So yeah, a lot of it, the industry stuff has changed.
Now it's kind of a good thing and a bad thing.
I guess to an extent it's a goodthing for the models because it
gives them more reassurance and safeguards in the industry.
So things are more, you know, more regulated for them.
You where they can only be on set for a certain amount of
(40:49):
time. They have to have breaks at
certain times, you know, having chaperones, being able to have
somebody with them or whether ona location or going to a set.
It's a, you know, it's about safeguarding the talent because
that's one of the things that I think prior to that years ago,
like they had this thing called the Coogan Act, which was
instituted especially for kids, where the Coogan Act was an act.
(41:11):
So that kids would be able to have a percentage of their, of
their monies that they made. Because a lot of times back in
the back in the old days, I think it was Jackie Coogan from
like the little rascals, where the, the, the child actors of
the olden days, their parents were the guardians of their
monies. So by the time the kids got
older, over 18, they had no, they had no money.
(41:32):
They had these fabulous careers.But then by the time they didn't
have anything to fall back on because their money, the parents
spent all the money. Now with the child labor laws,
they have a thing that's instituted where you.
Have the special kind of bank account you have to.
Have a client trust account where I think it's like 15% of
anything that a child makes automatically.
Every time they book a job or a show or a film, 15%
(41:54):
automatically goes into a special trust account that only
they can touch. When they turn 18, they can put
as much as they want in it, but mandatory, I think it's
mandatory. 15% automatically goes into this account.
So that way it's a safeguard set.
When kids turn 18, they now havesomething to fall back on.
They have their monies from all the work that they've done,
which I think is a great thing. The Fashion Workers Act is
primarily, I think, for fashion models where like I say, it's
(42:16):
more of a safeguard against certain things that happen in
the industry. It just kind of really
safeguards and to make sure thatthe models are really taken care
of where they have access to people that really can kind of
back them up. And they have, you know, they
have a law that now says, OK, you know, you're not just bound
by by what an agency says because agent we have to follow
rules and regulations as well. So it actually benefits on both
(42:39):
ends, the agency and the talent.What are the biggest changes you
think you've observed? I think honestly the biggest
change for me is, has really been the diversity, the fact
that literally all types of people are now viable
commodities in this industry. I mean, you look at it and you
literally see everything, which I think is fabulous.
(43:03):
That's one. I mean because we are, we are a
melting. We are.
Everything we are, we are absolutely a melting pot and
it's a great way, especially foradvertisers because now they can
market their products everywhere.
And you know, I tell people in this industry is, that's why I
tell people when it comes to this industry, it's not about
you. I just say that, you know, it's
not about what you want. It's not about what you think or
(43:24):
how you see yourself. You are a facilitator.
Your job is to facilitate the needs of the advertisers.
What are they looking for? They are looking for you to sell
their products. What product?
Any product, every product, it really doesn't matter age wise.
And This is why gender wise, doesn't matter if it's something
that caters to you or not, it's not about you.
(43:44):
I tell talent, look at yourself now as a product.
If I'm an advertiser and you arethe product, who do I want to
buy? You?
Anybody, Everybody. If you are, if you are, if I'm
big pens and I'm selling big pens, who do I want to buy this
pen of everybody. If you're an infant and you
want, you want a little pen likeyou know what you want, I want
(44:06):
the infant to buy that pen, But I want if you don't have, if you
don't have limbs, you have arms and legs and you or, or you have
arms and you write with your feet, I want you to buy my pen.
I don't, it doesn't matter. I don't care what planet you're
from. I want you to buy my product.
That's why I tell talent. Look at yourself as a product.
That is a great way to market yourself.
You know, don't limit yourself. There's so many things that you
(44:27):
can do and, and at the same timein this industry, your full,
your entire body becomes a viable commodity.
Because if you think about it, you see ads for everything,
whether it's hair, eyes, nose, lips, teeth, back, arms, legs,
butts, feet, every part of your body.
Oh, oh, but you know what? I have skinny arms.
I have Cellulite. I have varicose veins.
(44:48):
I have, I have corns. Who asked?
You. There's somebody who wants
those. Think about it.
Because what you don't like about yourself, someone else may
think it's perfect, maybe exactly what they're looking
for. You see ads for literally
everything. All kinds of You see bunion ads
all the time. Yeah, people with ugly feet.
Hey, those people are getting paid.
Yeah. So you think about that, you
know, that's why I tell people especially.
(45:10):
That's an eye opener right there.
Absolutely. You have to be comfortable in
your own skin. As you know, as talent we look,
I say we look at ourselves. We are our own worst critic.
That's why I say we can look in the mirror and find 1000 things
about ourselves that we don't like.
Yeah, who cares? Who asked you what you like
about yourself? Think about you know what that
that thing that you don't like about yourself.
(45:30):
Maybe the thing that takes you over the top, that makes you
buku bucks and you're like, wow,I never thought of that.
That's why I tell you have to have an open mind about this
industry. There's so many things, there's
so many avenues and venues that you can do to be successful in
this industry. But again, it falls back to
doing your homework, doing your research, and understanding the
business of show. That's such a good way to put
(45:54):
it. The business of show.
Absolutely. Yeah.
Do you ever tell people, you know, look through magazines and
Can you imagine yourself on those pages?
Can you imagine yourself with that advertiser?
Yeah, well, that's why I tell you, think about, look at all
the things that you see in the course of your day.
You see ads everywhere, whether it's on TV, on the Internet,
(46:16):
magazines, newspapers, billboards, catalogs, social
media, bus kiosks, phone kiosks,subway crawls, they're
everywhere. Ads are everywhere.
And what do you see in those people?
I mean, seeing those ads, real people, people just like you.
Now look, granted, we all can't be fashion models, you know,
we're all 5-9 or six one, you know, and stunning, you know,
(46:39):
with amazing features. But at the same time,
realistically, I tell you, especially if you think about
women, well, think about the real woman.
The average woman is the size 12.
That is the real woman. That's a that is the buying.
But that's who advertisers are catering, catering to.
That's why this industry is so immense.
It's so wide open. I, I tell people constantly, all
(47:00):
the time, don't limit yourself. The moment you limit yourself is
the moment you've knocked yourself out of this industry.
You have to have an open mind. And it, it just, it falls back
to that confidence in your, in who you are, in the person that
you are, you know, in the, in the things that you do in
everyday life. You know, you're constantly on,
we're on all the time. Think about what you do in the
(47:21):
course of the day. You know, you're always in,
you're in some way, shape or form.
You know, you're putting on airs, you're acting, believe it
or not. And I took acting is not, you
know, I don't tell when I, when I go to acting classes and I
give workshops, I took, I tell people my job is not to teach
you how to act. My job is to help you hone the
skills that you already have. I'll help you bring those skills
(47:42):
out. That's my thing.
I can't teach you how to act, but I can definitely help you
bring those skills out, help youhone those skills.
And then a world, a whole new world opens up to people that
when they realize, I didn't realize you even had that in me.
Surprise. See, if you just open yourself
up so you'd be amazed at the things that you can find out,
the things that you find out about yourself that you had no
(48:02):
idea. Like this is wonderful, you
know, and it helps build that confidence as well.
I mean, confidence is paramount in this industry.
That's why I tell people if you're not confident in
yourself, then why should anybody else be confident in
you? It starts with you and you have
to have that confidence. And that is also going back to
knowing the difference between being confident and being
(48:23):
conceited. You know the difference between
being confident and conceited. If you like I say, if you're, if
you, you know, if you are physically appealing or you, you
know, you have talent that's confident, that's being
confident and being sure, being sure in yourself.
You have to have that. It starts with you and it ends
with you. You have to look at it that way.
(48:45):
The time for these interviews always goes beyond too fast, you
know, just way too fast. Charlie.
What? What would be what would be the
take away for someone who wants to get into the entertainment
business? They want to either become a
model, they want to be an agent.What would you say to them?
(49:07):
I'm going to use the Nike sloganJust do it.
It's that's just do it. Show up.
Show up. Show up.
That's my whole thing. Just do it, because you never
know until you try. It's a good rule, absolutely.
It's a good, it's a good rule inlife.
(49:27):
I think so. You know and and.
And be open, you know, just. Be and you might not make it on
the first try either. You know, it's that idea of the
as you discuss the persistence, the showing up, you know, just
keep staying current with your looks, your.
And look at yourself as a sponge.
You know you are a sponge. Soak it all in, take in as much
(49:47):
as you can. You are constantly learning new
things every day in everyday life.
You are. If you are not constantly
learning, then it's time for youto do something else.
Then you'll need to be here anymore.
But you have to look at it that way.
That's what life is all about. You know, it's, it's learning
new things all the time, every day.
It's constant. That's, I think that's our goal.
That's why we're here, is to constantly be learning new
(50:09):
things. These are the things that give
us, you know, reason for life. That's what life is all about,
100%. Thank you so much, Charlie
Winfield, my. Pleasure.
Thank you. It's been, it's been wonderful.
It really has been. It really has been.
I have been spending this time today during this episode with
Charlie Winfield. He's the co-owner of FFT Models.
(50:31):
He's been a long time agent. He was a childhood actor.
He joined truly. This is if you know anyone who
wants to be in the world of modeling, print commercials,
entertainment, acting, you should have them see this
episode before they do anything else because he shared such good
industry insights for everyone. I'm Diane Grisell.
(50:53):
This is the silver disobedience perception dynamics podcast.
There will be links to find Charlie to follow him on social
media to get to his website. They will all be below this
episode. Please share it, hit subscribe.
And thank you, Charlie Winfield.Not all my pleasure and thank
you.
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