Kirk Talent

I met with Kim Edwards from Kirk Talent. Her agency, one of the more reputable ones in Vancouver is a boutique Film/TV talent agency that has clientele that star on shows like CBC's Heartland and Hollywood films such as Black Swan and Hot Tub Time Machine.

On the day of my interview with her, I armed myself with two Starbucks cafe mochas and made my way inside the brick exterior, industrial building. Having found their space, I was shocked at how empty the agency was. As opposed to what I see from Ari Gold's office (a la Entourage), this talent agency was quiet. The secretary I spoke to, a young aspiring actress greeted me and said, "you must be Lucas, Kim will come out shortly." I sat down on the front entrance couch and was shocked to see that there were no other agents running around on their Blackberry's shouting offers and demanding studio heads to give their clientele a shot at a feature film. The chaos that characterizes Entourage's representation of a talent agency was in stark contrast to what I saw inside Kirk Talent. Maybe it's the laidback Vancouver mentality that's to blame for this quietness. I sat on the couch hoping that our mochas would retain its warmth.

Kim came out and invited me to her office. On my clipboard that I brought with me were a list of questions that I had prepared to ask her. Although most of the questions did get answered, she did give out one specific point about the often un-glamorous life of a film talent agent.

She said that "The Entourage-ization of the industry has brought kids thinking that this business is all glamor, all the time. The belief that you will go to all the big premiers and have constant lunches with celebrities is anything, but true. Although I have gone to a few premieres in LA, most of my time is spent talking on the phone to casting directors and prepping my clients for auditions. Although I work within an industry that is depicted as glamorous, it is us that has to maintain that illusion so that the stars we represent, not us, become the only thing that can be called glamorous."

"Our industry here in Vancouver is much more low-key than in LA where agencies such as Creative Artists Agency act as huge corporate entities. Being a Canadian does put you at a bit of a disadvantage if you wish to work there..."

So here it is, I met with my first principal talent agent. An incredibly down-to-earth lady that exuded anything but the Ari Gold mentality that I thought I would get a taste of. She had no cuss words to say, no crazy celebrity party stories to tell, no Hollywood dirt to dish - she was a normal lady doing a middle-man job that just so happens to be in a "glamorous" industry. She gave me a brief tour of the one-floor agency and aside from the movie posters that painted the walls and the reel room that helped film her client's audition reel, the office could've been mistaken for any other real-estate or investment agency.

I'm not sure how the talent agency business is going to fit in with goal of working in Hong Kong for a year in 2012, but I'm still looking at other industries to go into.

Next up is the Advertising industry.