Speaker 1 (00:06):
How old were you when you moved to LA? 41. Where did you move from?
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Maryland.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Did you know anyone here?
Speaker 2 (00:13):
No.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Where did you live when you first got here?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Calabasas.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
What was your profession when you arrived in LA?
Speaker 2 (00:20):
An intern at a management company.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
And what was your initial impression of LA?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Loved it.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
How many years did it take you till you felt at home in LA? Still learning, still waiting. If you had to sum up LA in one word, what would that word be?
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Different.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Yes. Exciting. Today we're going to, we're talking with Haley Littman, the founder of Littman Talent Group. Haley is an agent for actors. She represents actors in all walks of their career. Those with their beginning, those in the middle, and those with many credits, which means you see her clients in everything.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Everything.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Yeah. All that. Greatness aside, my favorite part about Haley is that she walks the walk and talks the talk. Her reputation in LA is that of being hardworking, passionate, and extremely caring of her clients loved. And this is another one of my favorite parts. When you meet people in the industry who know Haley and you say, oh yeah, Haley, their response is always, oh, I love Haley. Which is a great response to get. So, Haley, thank you so much. Yeah. We're
Speaker 3 (01:34):
So lucky to get to talk to her today. Thanks
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Guys. Wonderful.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Hear the perspective from an agent. So
Speaker 1 (01:40):
Great. Yes. What a great, great perspective to have. Yeah. So I guess the first completely basic question is how did you become an agent and why?
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Okay, so backtrack about when I graduated college 25 years ago, I worked production for TV show and knew I loved it. And fast forward, I got married, had kids, we moved to DC so I couldn't keep that career going. I was a mom and my husband's company in DC asked if we would move out here so that he could run the West Coast office. And we always talked about moving to California. So it was perfect. So we did, my kids got settled in their schools, and then I decided that I wanted to get back into entertainment. I sent my resumes out to casting directors. That name sounded nice to me. That happened to be the biggest casting directors in all of LA shoot sigh. I like, yeah, clearly did not do my research, did not hear from anyone. Obviously that's a good LA story.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
It's typical LA story.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Exactly. And then someone suggested that I take a class at UCLA. I was a one day class learning the industry, and there were writers and directors and agents and managers, and they kind of talked about what they did, and I thought Agenting sounded kind of fun. And I sent my resume to a job site that I saw was looking, and I was an intern for a management company.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
For how many years did you do that?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I did it literally for five weeks with her, because I knew that she wasn't authentic.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Oh, what do you mean by wasn't authentic?
Speaker 2 (03:23):
That's my keyword out here, that you have to be authentic. You have to be true to who you are. And if you feel as though you're not, then you need to find another place to be working. And I moved to different companies because I felt that all you have out here is your reputation. And I didn't want to be associated and known for a bad reputation. I wanted to be true to who I am. And so that's why I finally opened up this
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Your own thing.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Exactly.
Speaker 3 (03:57):
So just backing up a second, you said you worked in television before going to DC so that wasn't here. That was
Speaker 2 (04:04):
In New York City. That was in New York,
Speaker 3 (04:05):
Sorry. That's okay. So then, because I just think it's interesting
Speaker 2 (04:08):
That
Speaker 3 (04:08):
You came here at 41 and started, I mean,
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Started from the beginning.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
Yeah, started from the beginning. Knew no one hadn't worked in TV here. Did your New York credits, were they helpful?
Speaker 2 (04:18):
No.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
No.
Speaker 2 (04:18):
Nobody cared. Unfortunately, nobody cares about really, LA is very self-serving. And it's a great way of describing if your credits and if not necessarily your education, because I think education is obviously countrywide,
Speaker 3 (04:43):
But they'll accept Harvard.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
They will clearly, right. They'll be happy with Yale or anything like that. But when it comes to credits, TV credits or work experience, if it's not in LA, they feel as though, and that's my own personal opinion, that they don't have any regard for it unless it's the Olympics, which LA
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I think it's kind of like what you were saying with reputation, it's building your reputation in the city. Absolutely. And you mentioned reputation a few times, so can you kind of talk about what that means in the city and for you and
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Yeah. You know what I feel as though when I love LA, when I say it's interesting, it's interesting because it's not the East Coast. I'm an East Coast girl, so I know, right? You say it like it is, you don't beat around the bush. You like somebody great, you don't like somebody great. Exactly. But you're not going to pretend that it's something. So out here I found that people are not true to really being that kind of soul of a person, of being authentic. So people say they love you. Oh my God, you're so great, dah, dah, dah, dah. And then really, you're not getting it back. You're not feeling that it's really what they're thinking. So starting out here, late in my life, I knew the time was ticking. I had learned a lot, obviously up to this point. And so I kind of knew I was on the fast track that if I wanted to make this work, that I couldn't sit idle. I needed to kind of be in the right place and make it happen on my own. Just kind of being a go-getter. And that's, I learned from the different companies what they did. Probably the best advice that I was given was from somebody else that I worked with. And she just said, be yourself. Don't pretend to be an agent. Don't be entourage like Ari Gold. Just be who you are and you're going to be very successful at it. It's when you pretend and then you forget who you are, that it just turns into a big mess
Speaker 3 (07:06):
And you're not authentic. I love that word that you used
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Initially about the person you work,
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Because I think it's so interesting. LA is such a great place with so many opportunities, and I do find that when you meet the right people, you get so much help, but it's so big and there's so much happening. You got to weed through. You got to weed through, and you also really have to have your hand on your shoulders so you can trust your instincts.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
Absolutely. Your guide, if you are walking into an audition and it seems shady. It is shady. It's shady. So leave, I mean, there's nothing, this isn't going to be your only time that you're going to audition. You have to just be smart and think about your career and every choices that you make in order to make your career what you want it
Speaker 1 (07:48):
To be. Yeah, that's great. I also think it's just so awesome that you interned. Oh my God, because intern interning like two years.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
I mean, interning is a great way, is that not paying, not paying, not paying. I mean, that's two years, that's a long time to go. Not making a salary, but just appreciating I guess, that you're learning.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I had no right to be like, you need to hire me and you need to pay me because I'm Haley Littman. Clearly that doesn't mean anything. And you learn and you have to build your way up so that you're worthy of having a salary or making commission or doing whatever it is, and having casting know who you are.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
Right, right. Because the casting has to trust you. Absolutely. So can you talk about that a little bit? So the way that you, as we say, get an actor in, which means get an actor and audition is I assume that you're pitching and submitting to casting directors who are casting things. So does there definitely have to be a relationship between you and those casting directors to trust you?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
I've always, my two words are care and consideration. So my actors give that to me
Speaker 4 (09:01):
That
Speaker 2 (09:01):
They're not pesting me calling me. I saw this breakdown. I would be perfect for it. Can you submit me or can you pitch me? I know the granddaughter or the executive producer, and they promise that they could get, so they trust me that I'm doing everything in my power to get them the audition,
(09:19):
And then I pass that care in consideration to casting. I don't bombard them with emails and phone calls. Oh my God, you need to see this client. You have to. This client's perfect. They know that my clients are professional that will come in on time. We'll be off book, we'll take direction. They're trained. So it's gotten, knock on wood, thank goodness successful that I have a good enough reputation with casting that when I submit somebody and do a submission note, if there's something specific they need to know if they're right for the role, they're going to call them in for the audition.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Right, because you've built up that trust. Great. And you said something about just going back in terms of how you work with your actors. So there's kind of two different things going on. It's actors working with you and then you working not just with the actors, but the casting directors you're submitting to. So how do you work with your actors? What would be something you could tell an actor of what it's like to have a relationship with your agent?
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Well, I think you have to have respect for them, and you have to understand that they're doing everything in their power to get you auditioning. They wouldn't have you on their board if they didn't believe in you, if they didn't want to be your cheerleader. So trust them that they're doing what they
Speaker 4 (10:44):
Can.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
If there's something about pictures that's not working, then it's not because they want you to be spending your money on new headshot. Exactly. They want you to have the right headshot so that you can get called in. And so casting can see exactly what you look like right now. So they're your friend. They're not your enemy. And that really, I think is important for actors to understand that they're trying to help you. They want you to be successful, so you have to listen to what they're going to say because they know the industry. They know what casting is looking for better. Not necessarily better than you, but they're on your team.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
But probably better the one talking to the casting directors every day. And yeah, there's a thing, I don't know what you said that reminded me of it, but there's a thing that you sometimes hear that I actors say, and I'm, I don't know, maybe agents say it too, about the 10% thing. Do you know, this is where I'm going, where they say, an agent typically takes 10% of the salary of the actor. So you hear this in classes a lot. So the actors should only really expect the agent to be sharing 10% of the work. You I don't agree with that.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
Okay. I don't agree with that. It's teamwork. It's teamwork. As I say, it's like a relationship we're dating. So there has to be mutual respect. There has to be, I'm not sitting and being like, oh, well, I'm only getting 10%, so I really would rather have a cup of coffee and go out rather than sitting and doing. I want my 10% is minimal compared to your 90%. Sure.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Of course it is.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
I want everyone to be working. I want everyone to be doing what they want and love to be doing. So without me, there's still a you, but I'm going to help you be better. So there just has to be equality, I think in it. I don't, yeah, I
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Don't know. That's a great way to say it. Without you, there's still the actor, but I think you can speak to this too. It's pretty hard for the actor to get the audition without an agent, especially the bigger
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Ones, the bigger Absolutely. There's always short films. There's always student films. There's always, sometimes if casting's looking for something specific that they don't release to the agents, because we don't know if your father was half Indonesian and halftime when specifics like that. And so maybe then that a CD would call somebody in because they're looking for something specifically that they're releasing straight to actors. But if they're submitting it to agents and they're submitting it to actors, I'm submitting, and if the actor's submitting, then it's just teamwork. It's not a tally. It's not who got this, who got that, because then that's not a team.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
Right. I love that
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Idea. I love that too, because just as a warning, a lot of the trap the actors fall into many times is thinking, my agent's not doing anything for me because they're not getting auditioned.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
And I always say, that's not true at all. They're working very hard for you. But maybe you can talk a little bit about that, just kind of what a typical day is like for you and that strategy behind that. Because there's so much going on in your office when you're looking at the breakdowns and you're figuring stuff out. It's just,
Speaker 2 (14:23):
You know what? I think that our day, we come in at 10, the first hour or so is just answering emails, seeing if there's any auditions that need confirming, stuff like that. Just kind of basic cleanup. And then we start with the breakdowns and the breakdowns. They're methodical different seasons within the year. So pilot seasons kind of January to April, and then April to July is a little slow. There's sometimes new features that are coming out,
Speaker 4 (14:57):
More
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Indie features. So you have ultra low budget, modified low budget stuff that keeps you busy. And then fall episodic start in July, and they go all the way through to December. And that's usually my busiest season. And then you have the new year, and then it starts all up again. So I'm sorry if I went perfect.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Are you kidding? We want to know that because if somebody is thinking of moving here, it's great to know when the busier times of year are. I would probably say come, if you're thinking of moving here, come during a slower time. Absolutely. So you can settle and meet people, I would think. And sand casting directors, it's harder to meet. You can't meet. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
But what I'm curious is specifically kind of when you're looking at an actor, a new actor, and they want to work with you, what are the things that you're looking for on their resume?
Speaker 3 (15:52):
Okay, well, let's even back up a little to say, how do they get to you? How
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Do they get to
Speaker 3 (15:56):
You? Do they submit? Do they call? If somebody hears about you, so amazing,
Speaker 2 (16:04):
Do they? There's two sides to it. So if a new actor is just coming to LA straight out of college, usually the kind of path that I think a lot of agencies go is start a client off commercially and then commercially, because commercial is a great stomping ground to kind of learn the auditioning, getting in front of a camera, just learning the industry. And then at that point, we would want the actor to start submitting and getting some credits on their own, meaning self submitting for student films, for even indie films, just so they have a little bit of leeway. And learning LA by doing casting director workshops, by doing networking on their own. I want, when I bring somebody on theatrically, I want them to know I don't want it to be all green. Somebody knew that I kind of have to hold their hand. I don't have the time to do that. They need to know the industry. They need to know casting directors. They need to already be in classes, they need to know how to audition kind of thing. So I think the first step getting into LA is learning the groove out here
(17:28):
And taking the right classes out here and kind of networking yourself with the right people in order to get to the next step. We once had a commercial client that had strong, strong, I want to say maybe it was Second City, Chicago, and we couldn't get anything out. And then as soon as it was the insight of our commercial agent, it was like, let's just take off that Chicago. And as soon as we took that off, they started going out.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
Oh my gosh. That's amazing.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
And I'm not saying I'm not putting down any other market because that's not because it's amazing training anywhere you go, but I think out here, it's all about out
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Here. Yeah. Yeah. That's such a good point. That really is. Yeah. I mean, it goes back to what you were saying about LA being its own little pocket entity. And I also think that's great. I mean, to me, if I were a new actor coming to la, what you're saying would actually take a lot of pressure off of me because I think we all know about agents in all parts of the world, and I think somebody who's newer to the business thinks when I get there, the first thing I should do is get an agent, which is a lot of pressure because nobody, how do you do that? But I think what you're saying is no, don't do that. Get some student films, do some theater, maybe build up a little bit, do some casting director workshops. And
Speaker 2 (18:50):
There's a lot of seeds out here. There's a lot of bad agencies and bad management companies and people that you don't necessarily want to sign your life away. You've got to learn the ropes before you start, because especially there's just people who are out here being with this title for the wrong reasons. And I think a smart actor learns it first before they sign away.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
Yeah. I love what you're saying too, because I think it addresses that question of time. I think a lot of actors come out here with this sort of desperate notion of, I need to book something right away. I need to line things up. Can you? Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
You don't what time does, unless look, age is age. If you're older to play younger, okay, absolutely. If you look like you're 16 and you're 19, then yes, you should speed up a little bit because in two years you might not be looking as 16 as you look now. And production wants to hire, casting wants to hire people who are older to play younger because then their cost is much less. And you then don't have to have an onset teacher. There's pros to that. So in that respect, yes, you have to, but if you are the 21 to 26-year-old and true to that age range, then I think the most important thing is kind of, and to be comfortable in your own skin and to be, again, I say authentic to who you are, because when you walk into that casting room and you're that needy grabby, oh my God, I need to book this. I need to pay rent. I need to prove to my parents, I need to stay there. It shows Absolutely. And casting that. So to have the education and to have the expertise and the know-how when you walk into that room is so much better, even if it's six months from now, you're going to be a better package.
Speaker 3 (21:11):
Right. And there's that attitude that I think is pretty true of you kind of get one shot.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (21:17):
If you blow it the first or the second time,
Speaker 2 (21:20):
They remember everything. They remember. Casting has memories like elephants. So if you do something, you have to just be smart about. It's great.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
So how do you know if a casting director likes one of your actors?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
They just keep, if you don't get booked, that's okay. But if you keep on getting called in to Linda Lowy's office over and over and over again, they love you.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
That's a good thing. Wink wink way. She's talking to me right now. So I love how you said the thing about don't come out and necessarily try to get an agent right away. Build some of your own stuff. Okay. So can you tell us what's an appropriate amount of a couple of plays a commercial? And if so, would it then be an email that you might receive from an actor that says, here's what I've done. I'd love to meet with you. How would that work?
Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yeah, I mean, I think it's like do some commercials, do some student plays, do some workshops. Just do your due diligence
Speaker 4 (22:26):
When
Speaker 2 (22:26):
You feel like you're ready for an agent. Do your due diligence. Again,
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Research
Speaker 2 (22:32):
Who has some clients that are similar to you. Talk around to your friends, who are actors, what agents are they with, and are they happy? And then at that point, you can either ask your friends to refer, to refer. That's probably the best way, rather than just a cold email or a hard copy send.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Because
Speaker 2 (22:57):
Then I know that you're friends with one of my clients who I highly regard, and they're in the same notion together. And if they're friends, then you have to be similar kind of thing. And then I'll look at their materials. And again, developmental is a harder board to break into, but it's a challenge. I'm always up for a challenge if you have something specific that I'm looking for on my board.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
And developmental means you're developing the client as opposed to a client coming to you? Correct. With
Speaker 2 (23:33):
20 credits
Speaker 3 (23:34):
Already
Speaker 2 (23:35):
Where
Speaker 3 (23:35):
You can easily just call a casting director and say, this person from blah, blah, blah. Exactly. Or you don't even need to do that
Speaker 2 (23:41):
Because they know the name. Absolutely. Because they know to be looking for them and they, yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Can you tell us what's a perfect client? How would a perfect client behave with regard to his or her relationship with you?
Speaker 2 (23:55):
A perfect client listens to me. They don't fight me. If I say to them, look, your headshots aren't working. We need to get new ones. Okay, great. They trust that I'm not just spending their money. They trust that what I need. They're not asking for windows. If they're getting auditions, they're going to their auditions on their audition time. They're not causing, oh, well, I need two reschedule this, or I need to dah, dah, dah. They're being on time.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
They're not a headache. They're
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Not, they're,
Speaker 3 (24:26):
It's
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Like anything in life, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. They're understanding their responsibility. They're half of the responsibility. They're being off book. They're coaching if it's a guest star, if it's a serious regular, they're coaching, they're taking it seriously. And that's really what I expect, and that's what
Speaker 3 (24:47):
I watch off book. I think that's interesting. You've mentioned that a couple of times, and I so agree with you, and I know other actors feel differently, I guess I've heard people say, but I think absolutely be off. I
Speaker 4 (24:57):
Think your homework,
Speaker 3 (24:58):
It's your homework, which obviously I think everybody listening knows what that means, but it basically means having your lines memorized and
Speaker 1 (25:05):
It's your job.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
Definitely.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
It's your job. Definitely.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
And I think also it's some people that you hear these things about don't be off book, then it looks like they expect a more finished product or something. But I think for me anyway, when I have auditioned, you can be loose because, so then if they give you direction, your head isn't buried in a script,
Speaker 2 (25:26):
And so many of today's auditions are on camera, or you're taping for the producers. So if you're holding your paper here, but they're filming you who are such a good point. It looks horrible. It sounds horrible,
Speaker 3 (25:39):
And
Speaker 2 (25:40):
It's not going to get you booked. Really.
Speaker 3 (25:42):
That's a really good point to bring up too, that we should even talk about in another podcast perhaps, but or video, but that it's all on camera. You're saying auditions are all on camera. So sort of understanding on camera technique
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Of auditioning.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
There's classes, I mean, that's probably the most important. Scene study is really important. You have to have a foundation, but then doing the on-camera audition technique, because there's marks, there's eyes, your eyes have to be focused on certain areas. There's definitely cues that you wouldn't know if you didn't take a class like
Speaker 1 (26:17):
That. And I think a lot of people don't know that. And the place where you, I mean, LA is really the place where you would want to take those classes because this is where it's happening. Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (26:29):
That's also great. It's amazing. This has been a lot of really incredibly helpful information. Thank God. I wish I had talked to you 20 years ago when I used came to la, all the things I wish I had done before I came here. I know.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
So one last question, of course, that we'd love to ask you. As you know that our website is all about the language of la Yes. So learning this industry before you get here, what is an aism that you learned in your first few years here in la?
Speaker 2 (27:10):
An aism. Oh, geez. It got mes stumped here. It's
Speaker 3 (27:18):
Okay. Or even agent talk, or what's the agent speak that maybe we wouldn't know about? And don't worry if there's nothing, then we can edit around this. Obviously
Speaker 2 (27:34):
There's so much to LA and there's so many different, I mean,
Speaker 1 (27:42):
What about
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Advice? What advice I can give?
Speaker 1 (27:47):
How about advice you have for actors? I mean, you've given so much, but maybe life advice for actors moving to LA when they get to la.
Speaker 2 (27:57):
You know what? I think it's, forget who you are. Don't get persuaded to be something else. Don't try to morph into something that you think is more marketable than you are. I think take true again, be authentic. Be true to yourself, because don't get bogged down, oh, I'm only going out for nurse roles, or I'm only going out for cop roles. That's your wheelhouse. And embrace that. And then once you get a few of those bookings, you can branch off into more maybe deep roles or more roles that click to you or more meaningful. But just listen to casting, listen to how casting is trying to market you and embrace it and go for it.
Speaker 3 (28:48):
I love it. That's great advice. Wonderful. Okay. Thank you so much. This been fantastic. Hey guys, be sure to join us next time when we talk to Darren O'Hare, all about voiceover acting. Talk to you soon. Bye.