Recently film journalist, Agata Ostrowska-Galanis, met with Marius. Here is the interview held on this occasion. Marius Bargielski has been in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. First in film production, then as a musician, music manager and for the last 2 years Marius has been a talent agent representing actors for Theater, Film, TV, and commercials.
Marius is the founder and present President of the Metropolis Artists Agency, Inc.
AGATA: Marius, tell us about your agency.
MARIUS: Metropolis Artists Agency or MAA is a New York based, Equity/AFTRA/SAG franchised, International boutique agency, representing clients in the fields of Theater, Film, Television, Music and Commercials.
AGATA: Tri-union agency, this is quite impressive, especially that you are on the “market” for only 2 years?
MARIUS: From the beginning I made it clear, that we would like to be franchised with all three unions. This is very important for me, for the agency and our clients.
AGATA: Are you bi-coastal?
MARIUS: Not yet. I have decided to build a very strong, on solid basis agency here in New York City first. Hopefully next time we meet, I would be able to announce the opening of our offices on the West Coast.
AGATA: Tell us what types of talent do you represent?
MARIUS: We represent adult actors of all backgrounds. Union and Non-union. Experienced and “New Faces”. As an International agency, we have on our roster quite a number of foreign actors from Europe, Asia, South, Central and North America. Different ethnicities. Unfortunately at the present time we don’t offer our services to young actors under 18 years old.
AGATA: Are all your clients represented in all areas or do you have clients who are only represented by certain departments?
MARIUS: We try to fully serve our clients, but some of them are only sent by us for a legit work. We don’t have a separate commercial department. Even though we send our clients for commercials or print auditions, we don’t accept submissions just for commercials.
AGATA: Tell me more about your initial meeting with a prospective client.
MARIUS: After the submission selection I meet with a prospect to learn as much as I can. Not only about the professional experience, but also about the person in general. Of course, the first impression is very important and in most cases very quickly I have idea if someone is a prospective client or not. Headshots, resume, reels, recommendations tell me a lot about the actor. Amazingly it is still surprising how many actors don’t pay attention to their headshots and resumes.
AGATA: How many headshots do you expect from your clients to have on Actors Access (Breakdown Services)?
MARIUS: They should have at least 3-5 various headshots, and this is the absolute minimum. 5-7 would be much better.
AGATA: That could be very expensive
MARIUS: Indeed, but this is an investment. You can’t have just one headshot anymore. Or have pictures taken by your friend with an amateur camera. Your headshot is your representation, your first selling point. So if you are serious about your job, you can’t save on that.
AGATA: Reels..
MARIUS: This is another “must to have”. Reels should be uploaded to actors access account as well. This is the 21 century. Electronic submission comes not only with opportunities for actors but with some requirements and demands to which they should comply.
AGATA: What about sending just links to their internet (e.g. youtube) files instead of reels?
MARIUS: Sure, in some cases that would still work, but..
AGATA: But?
MARIUS: Nobody said that being an artist is easy and an inexpensive profession. Musicians have to invest in their instruments, so do painters, sculptures etc. If you are an actor with big aspirations you will invest in yourself as much as you can. Your mind (workshops, seminars), your body (gym), and other tools such as headshots, reels..
AGATA: What about if your client doesn’t have enough material for a reel?
MARIUS: Not only enough, but good material. Your reel has to be the best presentation of your work. The clips which takes 20 seconds with one second of your appearance, with no lines shouldn’t be even there. That is a problem. However with the digital age, where many of your friends have cameras it shouldn’t be a problem to put something descent. Be creative. You are an actor. If you can’t do that, than hey, what are you doing here?
AGATA: How have electronic submissions changed the Industry?
MARIUS: Completely. Electronic submission open a lot of opportunities for actors, but at the same time the number of submissions rose dramatically. Competition is much stiffer than it used to be. But this is not just about submission. Relation between agent and casting director changed as well. Now many casting directors choose to not be bother by the agents. And if they specifically put the note in the breakdowns asking not to call, we have to honor that. Therefore actors have to do a lot of marketing by themselves. It is up to actors to “arm” their agents with a lot of “ammunition”. Just remember, if you are still “no name” in the industry, and you don’t supply us with tools (headshots, reels) – you are not ready for working with agent. At the same time there are many different new opportunities which came with digital era such as webisodes and interactive projects. Webisodes may not raise agent’s interest from the financial point, but it gives an opportunity for inexperience actor to be widely seen, market himself. Interactive media – this becomes to be a great deal for experienced actors as well as new faces. And new interactive games just begin to boom.
AGATA: Lets talk about showcases? Do you attend them? Are they still valuable?
MARIUS: Yes, we still do attend some of the showcases. Personally I think that we should do that. Unfortunately, there are more and more showcases badly organized with a poor selection of actors. I attend those, when I know the organizers or if any of my clients are in.
AGATA: Do you recommend your clients to do casting director showcases?
MARIUS: Showcases, One-on-Ones, Seminars, any form of networking is good. And of course, for some will work better than others.
AGATA: Do you attend plays?
MARIUS: Yes, and again, in NYC we have so many different opportunities so it is impossible to see all of them. I rather pick those where my clients or someone recommended take a part in it or I know either the writer, producer or director.
AGATA: Any advice on actors training..
MARIUS: It is important to maintain a great shape both mentally and physically. This is rather personal, which way you choose. Which one works better for you: workshops, classes or private coaching? Which one can you afford? In general in addition to workshops and seminars, I like when my client has theater experience. That always looks good on your resume as well. At the same time, you can’t underestimate on-camera training importance. Even if you are mainly interested in theater, you still have to have some commercial technique training to be able to take commercials.
AGATA: What about backgrounds?
MARIUS: If it is as a form of experience, then it makes sense. It is not a bad idea to take once or twice extra work in shows in which you would love to get a role. This way you can meet the crew, to see how “it“ works. But you definitely don’t want to remain there for longer period of time and be labeled as “extras” actor.
AGATA: I know that you have many young actors on your roster. Any advice for them?
MARIUS: In addition to what we were already talked about, definitely - “Patience”. This is one of the most important qualities in the life of the actor. If you don’t possess that, you will have a very long and bumpy road.
AGATA: Do you want your actors to submit directly to casting directors?
MARIUS: It really depends. Freelancers still have to submit themselves, especially in this economy. Signed clients should leave it to their agents.
AGATA: How do you feel about your clients calling casting directors directly.
MARIUS: They shouldn’t do that. That’s a big no-no.
AGATA: The best way to send submissions to MAA?
MARIUS: We accept submissions by snail mail and email (newsubmissions@metropolisagency.com)
AGATA: Any final advice?
MARIUS: Find a good agent, who will be the best fit for your career approach and stick with him for better and worse. Don’t jump often from one to another agency like a butterfly. Study hard with the best teachers, be patient and … enjoy your carrier because you have one of the most beautiful professions.
(January 2011)
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