Actor turned agent and forever dag Marla Jane Lynch jams with author and Emmy-honored casting director Bonnie Gillespie about what she looks for in actors to sign to her roster, how to avoid a crap agent, and the value of truth in your showreel (and in life).
What are your key takeaways from Marla’s interview from the SMFA Summit? Share below in the comments! 🙂
Talent agent. Actor. Human. Dag. Definitely dances like no one is watching. Marla came to London over 10 years ago from Down Under and is still confused when Christmas is not at Summertime. She may not suffer fools gladly, but she definitely embraces silliness joyously! Known for making odd videos in the middle of the night, a continuous flow of hot beverages, and winning an award as the arse-end of a tap-dancing Panto horse (yep, *officially* an award winning horse’s arse), she trained with AMAW master class in London and NIDA and Screenwise in Sydney. Marla also studied film and television production in Australia at Edith Cowan University, The Film & Television Institute, and Metro Screen… for when she needs to get a “real” job.
LOVED this talk! It was encouraging, inspiring, and refreshing! The biggest take away was to be authentic! It was so exciting to hear how devoted Marla Jane Lynch is to her clients, how she builds a relationship with them and believes in them and their work. YES!! YES!! YES!!
Right? So freakin’ inspiring! The definition of a HELL YES REP!
Hehehe! Dag indeed. You be you girl!
I love Marla!! This talk really resonated with me because last year when my manager passed away, some of us on her roster wanted to continue the business and I was thrilled about it. BUT I worried about the conflict of interest if I were still acting and repping both myself and other actors. And that’s for management. I don’t think it would fly at all as an agent. Sigh… now I wonder again?
Talent agencies in the US cannot be run by actors. It’s not only against all unions’ rules and agency regulation groups’ rules, it’s actually illegal in most states (for sure, CA and NY being two of those). Like how a real estate agent cannot both represent the buyer and the seller of a home (this also may vary by state).
Being in the UK, Marla can be a licensed talent agency and still work as an actor, even submitting herself.
In your market, you’d have to do that as a management firm, most likely. And even though that’s legal, there are plenty o’ CDs who frown upon this (because they get fatigued by being pitched the same [owner] actor every single time that [owner] manager calls/submits). 😉
Thank you for this inspiring talk!
I’ve been thinking of starting an agency here in Austria as there are SO many fantastic actors and actresses who aren’t repped..
well.. Marla definitely watered that seed in me.. 😉
Great interview. As an unsigned talent I have worked with and been submitted by many an agent/manager. Never once did any express they were a fan of mine. I realize it takes more than knowing your talent is the right person to get them in the room. You really have to have to know your clients better than they know themselves. You’re their cheerleader and business partner rolled into one. More representatives need to have this approach.
Marla is great! I’m a bit biased because we were part of the same tribe (acting studio in London) and then during #showreelshareday she realized I didn’t have a rep and then she signed me. But just because I’m biased doesn’t mean that what I have to say about her is not right…
Doing SMFA work with her and the other actors from the agency is pretty fun. She sets us with challenges to get us to practice and just have some fun (if you choose to do it), if like me, you are an obliger, there’s no better “buddy” then your awesome agent! She got me to finally write my Bio, she does Zoom calls to just have a chat during this hard time but also organized Zoom calls to deal with showbible and now some of us are working on our own projects “separately but together”. Best buddy-ninja-agent ever! And lots of laughter too, lots and lots which is a nice bonus on top of all the others <3 xx
Flaviana, congrats! Good for you. That is a dream agent relationship for me.
Wow, I really found this interview to be very encouraging. I can really tell that Marla loves to connect with her actors. She also seems like she’d be a blast to just hang out with!
SHE IS!! 🙂
Wow. This quality of relationship/partnership seems like magic. Can we clone her?
Thank you so much for this! Really opened my eyes and heart to the relationship I want to have with my future agent! Need to find my agent who will be part of my tribe!
I want to start out by saying THANKYOU for doing this for young actors like myself. I have felt every emotion that was described in some form of way. I truly am inspired. I definitely believe I was meant to see this. It is hard to express all the emotions I had throughout this video. I laughed, I wanted to cry, I felt at peace, I felt inspired, and most of all JOY. I am so excited to push my way through every obstacle and trial I can to achieve what I have longed for. I have always wanted something that felt almost like family. I hope for an agent I can trust and believe they have my best interest at heart and they really honestly care about me and what I want to achieve. This gives me a huge relief to know there are agents out there that really care. I believe I got everything I was hoping for out of this video. Also, when it comes to learning what agents are looking for, even though it may vary, this helped. I always strive to connect that inner emotion to whatever I am trying to express to the audience. I personally love to feel and see things that are real too! Again, Thankyou.
Just watched on the replay! What a lovely lady! Marla, what you said about who gives a sh*t about your fancy school? It is all about the actor doing their job in the scene/reel…. are your believable?” I came from that era where it was all about your fancy acting degree. I used to feel embarrassed because I didn’t have one but I had always been booking and was studying on a more affordable scale. I was even worried I wouldn’t get booked because I wasn’t of the “ILK”. Not anymore.
Thank you for reminding us to be kind and genuine to ourselves and to others. This pandemic is an overload of emotions. Love your energy!