How did I become an Agent?
Alex is the Managing Director of major UK talent agency InterTalent. He represents his clients alongside overseeing the agency's creative strategy, day-to-day operations & acquisitions.
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All of my previous blogs about being a Talent Agent can be found here.
When I launched Dealmakers back in 2023, I deliberately avoided writing about my own career path. I’ve always been far more interested in talking about the job itself. Being an Agent is a profession that you can’t study for at university or master by following a step-by-step manual.
Dealmakers is about sharing insight and real-world advice for aspiring agents, assistants, junior agents or just anyone wondering what the hell an agent actually does. I met an editor at the BAFTA’s on Sunday and when I said I was an agent his reply was ‘oh, you don’t actually do anything then’. You can imagine how that went down… but I can appreciate that it’s a profession that is shrouded in mystery and here I am bringing it all to the surface.
I’ve never felt the need to do a mini memoir on here. If anyone really wanted to know about my journey or wondered if I have enough experience to now be the one giving out advice to others then they can easily find my bio on the InterTalent website.
Lately, a fair few people have been nudging me to share more about how I’ve navigated my career so far. I appreciate that Intern in 2008 to Managing Director in 2020 at one of the UK’s most successful talent agencies is unusual, and that hearing how it all happened may inspire someone else who is trying to figure it all out.
So I’ve given in.
Let’s go! ⬇️
2004-2007: I went to the University of Portsmouth to study Creative Arts. I knew I wanted to work in theatre, but had no idea in what capacity. Creative Arts gave me a chance to try many different things behind the scenes. It was cool but didn’t make me a specialist in anything. It made me a generalist. I’ve written a lot about the difference between being a specialist or a generalist, which is a massive decision to make as an Agent. You can read it here. I knew what I wanted to be early on, and Creative Arts sent me down that path. Turns out it was putting on plays and musicals in the Drama Society (I promise I did do some three-legged pub crawls and had fun too!) that sent me on my next path. I loved putting everything together from marketing to ticketing to casting. That’s called Producing. Had no idea. I was just doing what needed to be done. So there we go: I wanted to be a Producer. I loved my 3 years in Pompey but I knew I needed to study somewhere with massive industry importance before starting my career.
2007: The start of my Agent journey. I got accepted into The Central School of Speech & Drama to do a MA in Theatre Producing. Yes, that’s a thing. I had 3 months to kill before I started and needed a job. I’m from a family of successful football agents & my grandad was a music manager in the 50’s and 60’s (once was in business with The Krays - story for another day) and my Dad recommended that I use my love of theatre and see if I could find an internship at a theatrical agency. I applied for them all and got an interview at the prestigious Curtis Brown. My only interview. Funny how that can happen. I got it, and over the course of 3 months I fell in love with being an agent. I never thought I wanted to be in an office. I wanted to enter and exit work through a stage door but the combination of creativity and business just blew me away. I made myself indispensable. I turned up early, left late, forgot my lunch breaks, tried to learn from all the top agents (most are still there today) and listened in on conversations about their stars from Robert Pattinson to Dev Patel. I tried to do way more than anyone ever asked me to do and, most importantly, made friends I could call on.
2007-2008: My year at Central was incredible and opened so many doors but couldn’t stop thinking about being an agent. I spent a year making lots of friends, taking advantage of all that Central had to offer and suddenly my CV had a massive glow up, but my ambition of being a producer wasn’t quite there anymore. Something else had grabbed me. It’s still a pinch me moment that I attended the same school as Judi Dench, Andrew Garfield, Laurence Olivier and more. It changed everything.
2009: I spent a year trying to be a Producer. I interviewed for every company and got nowhere. Finding an assistant job was impossible. I decided to team up with some friends I’d met while working at the Old Vic and we produced some plays in the West End. Cemented the decision that I wanted to be an agent not a producer. I applied non-stop to everywhere. I barely heard anything back, but finally I got an interview with top scripted agency ARG. They represent everyone from Daniel Radcliffe to Liam Neeson. The interview landed on one of those horrific snow days when London is at a standstill. It was impossible to get in from Essex, but I wanted the job so badly that when they said they were still open, I was never going to miss it. I made the nearly 3-hour trek to London (it usually takes 45 mins!). By the time I got to the office, no one answered the door. I kept buzzing and calling. Nothing. They had closed early because of the awful weather and didn’t bother telling me. I was angry and frustrated, and had nothing else in the pipeline. I sent a really disappointed (understatement) email that night. The next day, I got an apologetic email and an offer to come back in. I decided to put my ego away, go back and impress them. This was the start of a game-changing moment for me.
2009-2012: I spent nearly 4 years at ARG working directly for the MD & one of the best Agents in the industry. I worked on some of the biggest projects in the UK & US, and in the teams of some of the biggest actors I could name from Daniel Radcliffe to Liam Neeson. It’s impossible not to learn from that kind of calibre every single day. I put my all into it, I had great days and many more intense/tough/long/exhausting ones but ultimately I used it as an opportunity to build a network of top level people, go to every event I could, asked so many questions about contracts, unions, negotiation and, most importantly, I was taught how to spot talent. I was trained to within an inch of my life to know how to deal with big names, understand the industry, know who’s who and how to turn my passions into taste and into my career. I loved being there. It came with many challenges and difficulties, but without being an assistant for nearly 4 years and training every day (nowadays the max anyone wants to be an assistant is a year - is that enough?), I wouldn't have got the call from InterTalent. It was difficult to step away from working with mega actors every day but I ultimately concluded that as much as I felt valued and on the team, they weren’t my clients, and it’s time to start waving my own flag.
2012-2015: I joined InterTalent as a Scripted agent with no clients. The scariest position to be in. An agent with no clients is not an agent. I had to get out there and build. There were no hand outs. I think my mentality was really built here. The first 2 clients I convinced to join me were the toughest. I had nothing to back it up other than I had worked with great people elsewhere. Without those 2 people saying ‘Yes, please handle my career’ who knows where I’d be. The first 3 years I built and built: serious actors, comedy actors, TV, Film, Theatre, you name it. I built a list of 80+ clients and really started to gain traction within the industry. Key names who put their trust in me during that period include Emily Atack, Vinnie Jones, Jake Wood, Samantha Womack, Omid Djalili & more. These years were massive. I put everything I learnt into practice: talent spotting, networking, work ethic, the importance of momentum and more.
2016-2019: From 2016-2017 I spent time in LA & NYC, our clients had been so successful that we were having a lot of interest from over there. I loved every second but by 2018 I felt I was losing my enjoyment of the scripted world. A few things knocked my excitement and after a lot of soul searching I decided representing only actors wasn’t for me. Being an actor’s agent is harder than anything else - it’s so specific, nuanced and the most difficult to succeed in. After 10 years I decided to change lanes. I was fortunate that InterTalent had one of the best Unscripted divisions around and my Chairman was looking to freshen things up. I jumped at the chance and rebuilt my client list from scratch alongside some key clients who do it all. Things really started to lift off during these years. I worked harder than ever, I had to enter the worlds of unscripted TV, reality, books, podcasts and more without knowing anyone and spent every day meeting new people. I felt back at the beginning and I wanted to climb the ladder FAST. I opened every door I could, went to every awards show and event. Very quickly I built a stronger reputation in Unscripted than I did in Scripted. I love being able to cover everything, I have an interest in all media and it gives huge variety. I was then appointed a Company Director of InterTalent in 2017 alongside some of my closest colleagues which was a huge achievement. It showed that our loyalty and care for the company was being rewarded - and that we were crucial. It’s hard to find that if you move jobs constantly. In 2018 I applied to become MD and the Chairman said no. I wasn’t ready. I could easily have felt annoyed and disillusioned, used it as an excuse to go elsewhere but ultimately felt I had to spend a few years going above and beyond to prove he should have said yes.
2020: Covid. I did a lot of thinking. I spent a long time talking to my Chairman about that MD role. Where I felt we were great and where I felt we needed major improvements. I outlined my vision and the worlds we needed to play in, the kind of staff we needed to get us there and, of course, the kinds of clients that can execute the vision. I had only been at the company 8 years, I was only 34 (the youngest MD since the company started in 1991). Then it dawned on me that I had no idea how to be a MD. Starting from the bottom again but this time I was the boss. But opportunities often come when you’re least prepared. You have to grab them. I wasn’t prepared or experienced for what being a business owner really meant but I dived in anyways.
2020 - 2025: Over the past 5 years I have taken InterTalent from a company of 22 staff and 3 divisions to nearly 50 staff and 11 areas of business. To complement our outstanding Scripted, Unscripted & Music businesses we now have Comedy, Digital, Gaming, Business Ventures, Brand Partnerships, Corporates & Live Events, Content Creation & a Production Company. Alongside representing my roster of clients, I oversee day-to-day business, M&A and the creative vision. We have revolutionised what InterTalent does, how we do it and what we meant to the wider industry. Our turnover has increased by over 4x in that time. The truth is, the real success is in hiring great staff. They are the ones who are equally responsible for everything. Without them nothing is achievable and every single member of the team is so important. They are the key ingredient to the past few years - I have a group of ambitious and hard working stars in our building. It might also be worth reading this: https://intertalent.substack.com/p/why-is-my-agency-doing-that
What’s next?: We will continue to explore, expand, take risks, champion great talent and create the best opportunities. We will adopt new media, new technology and new ways of finding audiences.
📥 I would love to hear from you. Any ideas, thoughts and feedback via alex@intertalentgroup.com are always most welcome.
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See you next time.
Alex
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