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Talent Agencies: Do You Need to Kill Two Birds with One Stone?

While searching for agency representation you may have come across talent agencies and modeling agencies. If you're not familiar with the difference between the two, knowing this information could help you plan your career in the industry accordingly.

The main difference between these two types of agencies is that while modeling agencies only represent models, talent agencies also include actors, voice over artists and even musical entertainers in their representation. Modeling agencies strictly specialize in their primary field so they have no reason to try and sign people who only want to act in film, commercial, TV shows and other related projects.

Do you happen to be an aspiring model who also wants to be an actor (or vice-versa)? Then guess what: you'll want to apply to talent agencies. This is for a couple of reasons. The first is that a talent agency allows you to kill two birds with one stone by having one form of representation for both types of work. Having a main agent for acting and modeling means you only have to deal with one contract and it makes the process of attending go-sees, fittings, auditions and shoots much easier. This also prevents any time conflicts.

Reputable talent agencies know how to cross market their talent so that all the bases will be covered. However, it is important to know that getting started in acting is much different than getting started in modeling. If you have no experience in either field, a talent agency will help you develop your career and provide you with the right training that will allow them to begin submitting you for work.

While modeling doesn't require professional photos or an established portfolio for new models, if you also want to act, training in some shape or form is a must, especially if you want to impress a talent agency enough to sign you. Types of training for acting includes taking local acting classes through a program, participating in acting workshops, plays and similar projects in school, etc. If you need assistance with developing your acting career, there are many local resources available to you.

One of the best ways to be highly marketable is to be able to model and act. But if you simply want to do photoshoots, fashion shows, editorials and other modeling-related work, then you'll want to stick to submitting to modeling agencies. Does this mean that someone who wants to just do modeling can't submit to a talent agency? No. There is nothing wrong with still submitting to a talent agency that also represents models in addition to other types of talent. Just make sure to communicate to the agency in question that you are mainly interested in doing modeling.

Once you are signed, they will only submit you for that type of work. In some cases, though, talent agencies have recognized acting potential in their signed models and may have them take acting classes to see if there is the chance that they would transition well into acting work. This varies from case to case and person to person.
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