How to get a commercial agent in nyc
Here’s the brief story of how I found a commercial agent in NYC who’s helped me book a ton of great work with great clients like Carl’s Jr / Hardee’s, Autodesk, Regeneron, Get Your Guide, Travelers Insurance, FILO, Prudential, and FanDuel. (Check out my commercial reel here.)
I created a profile on Backstage and started self-submitting to low-paying gigs ($200-$500) just to build out my resume and get experience. Those gigs included GFuel, AT&T, Quadrant Homes, Westy Self Storage, Ask Mr. Franchise, Porch and Patio, Magyar Bank, Downs Ford, Hilltop Nissan, Sovereign Global Advisors, At Leisure Licensing (I wrote that one too), Interactive Brokers, and a handful of others… I didn’t know about Actors Access until later, but I’d recommend creating a profile and self-submitting there too.
I took Brooke and Mary’s On-Camera Commercial Intensive class. At the end of the class, they gave us a list of 10 agents and told us to mail—yes, mail—them our headshots and resumes.
One of the agents I’d just mailed happened to be doing a Meet & Greet at Actors Connection. I signed up for it. During our meet & greet, he liked my read of the sample script and invited me in for an office visit.
A few weeks later, I went to his office and signed with A3, and have been with them for the past 6 years.
UPDATE!
In February 2024 my former agency ceased operations. In May 2024, a casting director I’d booked the Autodesk gig with—Mary Callahan, of the aforementioned Brooke and Mary—emailed me and asked who I was auditioning with since A3 stopped operating.
I said no one.
The next day she sent an email introducing me to CESD. Two weeks later I had a Zoom with Kirsten Walther and Maura Maloney, and the following week I had my first audition through them.
They’ve since booked me with Naadam, Goldbelly, H&R Block, and, depending on when you read this, a whole lot more.
