If you know where to find the top acting agencies, you will succeed in your acting career in Los Angeles. This is because acting agencies help the actors find the best-paid options for movies, TV shows, commercials, theater, etc. Overall, acting agencies are groups of talent agents who are connected to various acting directors. Therefore, they will find opportunities for you that you would probably have difficulties finding. Also, they are beneficial for casting directors too, as they help find and hire the most talented actors in accordance with the role.

When you sign a contract with an acting agency, they automatically take several responsibilities. Such is presenting some marketing tools about you to the auditions. One of the most crucial ones is your acting headshot. They can also suggest where to find a professional headshot photographer. Also, where to find good acting schools in order to prepare yourself for your acting career in Los Angeles. Besides, they present your resume, call and speak with acting directors about your advantages, and help in callback auditions. It is also essential to be able to negotiate for higher pay if needed. However, acting agents are not responsible for improving your acting, boosting your image, etc. There are specific things you will be responsible for yourself.

One research done taking into account several dimensions of client opinion, reputation, etc., introduces 6 top acting agencies, which you can find below.

William Morris Endeavor

According to research, this was overall the best acting agency that will help you succeed in your acting career in Los Angeles. William Morris Endeavor was initially created as William Morris Agency in 1989. Then, it united with Endeavor Agency and became the largest talent agency in the world. WME has offices in New York City, London, Sidney, etc. Overall, in 25 countries. About 3 million people work here. It represents some famous and loved actors of Hollywood such as Joaquin Phoenix, Millie Bobby Brown, etc.

WME works not only with actors but also with musicians, athletes, comedians, with other talents. As the top acting agency in the world, it ensures that you will get the role you want as an actor. However, it is also understandable that this agency will choose you if only you have an effective resume. Therefore, this may not be the best option for beginners. Although, there are some ways to impress WME and start working with it. Start with less famous and smaller agencies. Try to get substantial roles, which you can show in your resume then. Present yourself in a satisfactory manner, even through your personal connections. Try to be effective in your acting headshot and resume. You can also create YouTube and other videos that will be viral.

Creative Artists Agency

Creative Artists Agency’s main competitor is William Morris Endeavor, mentioned above. So, this is the second top acting agency in the world. It was founded in 1975 in Los Angeles. The latter ensures your rise in your Los Angeles acting career. Although it was founded in Los Angeles, it managed to spread worldwide. Now, CAA has agencies in the US, Asia, and Europe. CAA has about 2 million employees, less than its main competitor. It works with talents of television, sports, social media, etc. Clients include Jeremy Renner, Melissa McCarthy, etc.

As this is the second top agency worldwide, it also seeks to work with quite professional and already well-known actors. That is why, here too, you have to start with little agency and try to present yourself in a sufficient way while applying for CAA. Here, finding a professional headshot photographer will help you stand out. Using your connections may be beneficial too while trying to impress talent agents.

Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin & Associates

This agency is among the top acting agencies as the best for theater Los Angeles acting career. It was founded in 1957 in Los Angeles. KMR was initially famous as The Wormser Agency. When it opened its New York office in 2002, it quickly became one of the leading boutique agencies. Usually, acting agencies concentrate on finding good opportunities for actors in highly paid areas. Such are movies, TV shows, etc. The uniqueness of KMR is that it prioritizes the theater roles a lot, encouraging actors to find roles there. Hence, it prepares all the marketing tools, including acting headshots, corresponding to it.

However, Kazarian/Measures/Ruskin & Associates does not only concentrate on theater. Its clients also can land roles for commercials, TV, film, etc. KMR has given professional actors to famous shows such as Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, etc. The most significant advantage of KMR is that it values every actor and seeks to represent those with disabilities too. Overall, every actor can contact KMR via email, as this agency is not as famous and large as those mentioned above. It is more “friendly” and beneficial for those who look especially for theater acting. It helps actors who just start their career and agrees to represent them.

Central Casting

You will not become famous in an acting career and get the leading roles as quickly as you may imagine. In the beginning, most of the actors start from background roles. Among the top acting agencies, we have searched for, the one which is beneficial for a background acting career is Central Casting. It was founded in 1925 in Los Angeles. At that time, about 35.000 actors lived in Los Angeles who were seeking background roles. After 90 years, CC became the top background acting agency and opened its offices in New York, Atlanta, etc. It has worked with professional artists like Will Ferrell and Eva Longoria.

One of the main benefits of Central Casting is that it suggests its own payroll services. This helps make sure that the actors they are working with will get paid by the workplace on time. Hence, when CC starts working with any production, it makes sure they use its payroll management services. CC is open to working with any actor. The steps are simple. You should find the application form on the website first. You will then visit one of the CC offices, complete some paperwork, get photographed for an acting headshot by a professional headshot photographer for the database, etc. Central Casting is open for every actor too.  

Gersh

Gersh is the best top acting agency for working actors. It was founded in 1949 in Beverly Hills. The founder was Phil Gersh, after whom the agency is named. Now Gersh’s two sons own the agency. Initially, it was founded in Beverly Hills but now has offices in New York too. During its existence, the agency represented actors like Jamie Foxx, Adam Driver, etc. Thanks to it, lots of nowadays famous actors got their roles in loved productions. Tobey Maguire landed his role as Spider-Man, for instance. Gersh works with talents of theater, TV, films.

Gersh is not as huge and famous an agency as WWE and CAA are. That is why it accepts to work with actors who are not that famous yet and are just starting their acting career. And, usually, the actors working with Gersh find themselves in larger acting agencies later, as they gain experience thanks to Gersh. For cooperation with Gersh, there is a need for industry referral. This is when someone in the actor’s network refers to him/her to submit materials. Actors with good representations and good working experience will have an opportunity to work with Gersh. That is why you should review your resume carefully and ask for help from a professional headshot photographer.

Boals, Winnett & Associates

Boals, Winnett & Associates was founded in 2002 in New York. As you have already noticed, this one is a bit younger agency but has already managed to become the top acting agency for beginners. It will help you in your film, television, and Broadway acting career in Los Angeles. This professional agency helped its clients get roles in Broadway, television, and film such as The Irishman, Mean Girls, Waitress, etc. BWA, during his existence years, has worked with famous actors like Isabelle McCalla and Mia Pinero. They have played accordingly in The Prom and West Side Story.

Boals, Winnett & Associates helps its clients in landing auditions, building resumes, etc. Therefore, it will make sure you are going to the right professional headshot photographer and have a high quality and powerful acting headshot. This top acting agency also makes sure you will have a well-organized shoutout on social media pages. If you are a beginner and are interested, you can submit the needed documents via email. In case of need, they will call you for an interview by appointment. Remember to connect via email, as phone calls or drop-offs are not accepted.

The costs of acting agencies

When the acting agency finds it convenient to work with you, the payment also will be included in the contract. Usually, if you get the role you wanted, you should pay some compensation to the acting agency. If you are a union actor, you will pay about 10% of your salary. Non-union actors pay approximately 20% of their salary. That is why most of the top acting agencies want to make sure you are a professional actor and you are going to have a promising acting career in Los Angeles. They want to make sure they will benefit from signing a contract with you. Also, remember that sometimes actors complain that the acting agencies speak about some upfront payments. Legitimate agencies do not do so. So, be aware.

Is using this service worth it?

You may think that you can present yourself perfectly too. So why is there a need for acting agents? The thing is that the productions do not always share all the role requests publicly. They share some of them with professional acting agencies to make sure they will find good actors for the role. The more experience the acting agency has, the much is the possibility of having strong connections with the acting directors. So, they will be the link between you. You may be extremely busy during your acting career in Los Angeles. So, acting agents are also for helping you complete some acting works you will not be able to complete. In that way, you can totally concentrate on your playing, and even have free time for your hobbies and the things you enjoy. Relaxation may be very beneficial for you.

Summing up

There are tons of acting agencies worldwide. So how to distinguish top acting agencies? The best method is to do it, taking into account several dimensions. For instance, as you have already noticed, we have separated top agencies for theater, beginners, background roles, etc. The idea was to find the best ones in different areas. In addition, we have also paid huge attention to client reviews and feedback. The best way to know about the agency is to consider people’s opinions who have already used the service. We have also paid attention to whether the agency was famous worldwide and to its reputation.

As you have also noticed, there are agencies founded in the 1920s and 2000s. However, the difference of over a decade does not make their high qualities differ. Indeed, the hugest agencies like WME and CAA will have more experience and other preferences of choosing actors than smaller companies. The reason is they want to make sure the contract and their work will pay off, and you will get the role you want. It is worth taking acting agencies. Especially when they have strong connections and can help you get the roles that are not offered publicly. These agencies will help you build the needed resume, with a suitable acting headshot done by a professional headshot photographer, validly present your experience. They will organize the meetings with casting directors and will do some part of your job, letting you have more free time.

So, hope this was useful and will help you succeed in your Los Angeles acting career.

You can view more Professional Headshots | Los Angeles Headshot Photographer on our home page.  Check out our headshot photography pricing/rates. 

What to read next: How To Get Professional Realtor Headshots in 2022