Today’s Inside Scoop profile subject, talent agent Mark Scroggs, started in the William Morris mailroom and made his way up in the agency world. He admits he did not start out wanting to be an agent, but at some point he did not not want to be an agent. But that was 20-something years ago. In the ensuing time, he has gone on to represent everyone from Hollywood legends such as Johnny Cash to relative newcomers on-the-rise too numerous to mention. Read on to find out how he successfully swam with sharks and created an enduring career as one of Hollywood’s power brokers.

Hometown:  Indianapolis, Indiana

Current Position:  Talent Agent at David Shapira & Associates.

College & Degree: I have a BS in Journalism from Ball State University; I got a masters degree at USC School of Cinema-TV.

Internships:  As an undergraduate, I worked for a quarter in PR for the state highway department. It was every day, more like a job. Then I had a summer internship with a government organization in Muncy. That was only one or two days a week, making fliers.

What was your first entertainment job?  While I was finishing my degree, I worked for a production company called Lantana Productions. And then things got slow and they laid me off. I went from there to temping at William Morris.

Did you get that through a temp agency?  Yes, I did. Through The Friedman Agency.

Were you on an agent’s desk?  Not then. I was running the mailroom and reading scripts for other companies. This was in 1987 and there was a writer’s strike which slowed everything down, just like the one a few years ago. At William Morris, none of us got let go, but there was no real movement for a while. Eventually, though, I started working for a talent agent, Risa Shapiro, when she relocated from New York.

So you didn’t go through the famed Mailroom Trainee Program?  No, I wasn’t a formal trainee.

Did you think you wanted to be an agent?  No, I didn’t really want to be an agent. I was looking for development work. One time, the job was mine, but then the person’s deal didn’t go through so it didn’t happen. A couple other times, I was very close. By then, I just stayed on at William Morris.

And then at what point did you decide you wanted to be an agent?  I worked for Risa for a while and then Chris Black, an agent who had been at William Morris, asked me to assist him at APA (Agency for the Performing Arts). About six months in, I was promoted to agent. So then it was kind of like, I didn’t not want to be one, but I wasn’t begging to be one. That was almost 23 years ago.

How did the promotion happen?  A lot of APA’s clients just weren’t getting activity (auditions, jobs, etc.). They would get it for a major film or TV pilot, but not for episodic shows. They weren’t really being covered. The agency needed someone to deal with the episodic TV. So I started covering that area, and a lot of the low‑budget films, too. I was supposed to get activity for the newer clients and the older clients. And get the comics activity, too, to help them cross over. Because being on the road is one thing, but these comics would get a pilot or some development deal and they wouldn’t know what to do on a set. So that’s how I got into comedy.

You basically filled a niche that needing filling.  At first, yes. It’s hard when you’re promoted because some people always remember you from before. You know, “I remember when you were answering phones in the mailroom.” But a lot of people left for various reasons and I just outlasted them, got other areas, got seniority.

So what do you consider your big break?  When I was promoted. Early on, there were a few cases where the new people I handled did very well and, all of a sudden, I became the go‑to person for a lot of the talent. They knew they could trust me. And then, a few years later, when I was at Kohner (Paul Kohner Agency), I had an incredible pilot season. So those were the big breaks.

What’s the best career advice you ever got?  When I was at USC, I was a teaching assistant for a man named Arthur Knight who said agency work is the best introduction to the business you can have. You get an overview of everything.

I’m looking for a eureka moment, when you realized you did or did not want to do something or that you should do something differently, etc.  As an agent, there’s a process of dealing with certain things. You don’t truly understand it until you’ve seen the results of what you do. I reached a point where there were enough end results to review that I was able to figure out how best to do my job. I saw what can happen and how it can happen. That was the playbook I always used after that.

Who are your clients now? Who do you like to represent?  I like people who are self‑starters. I’ve always had some clients who were entrepreneurial, and now I think it’s a requirement. If you want to be successful, you can’t sit around and think, “Oh, my agent’s going to take care of this.” You have to sell yourself and we will help you.

Are your clients all already established?  I will consider brand new people, but I have to think about whether I know how to sell them. I signed an actor recently who was a sketch and improv comedian. I knew exactly how I could work with that person. A lot of what determines whether I want to sign someone is when I wake up the next day after seeing them perform and I’m still thinking about them.

Describe a typical work day in your current position.  Early in the morning, I check my Blackberry to see if there’s anything of note going on, especially on the east coast. When I get in the office, I go through anything online, read the trades, and that sort of thing, and review any new casting breakdowns. (Note: Casting breakdowns are lists of all the characters in a project. Example- “Handsome, late-30s, aging jock.”). I talk to some of my clients and then, if I’m running the day rather than the day running me, I’ll start dealing with the pilots and the films I’m covering. After lunch, it’s a bit quieter. I deal with clients who have shows going or pitches out, and keeping up on any deals and negotiations. But every day, there’s going to be a curve ball. Something’s going to come up you don’t expect.

What was your worst job or worst day in the entertainment industry?  When a particular client who I’d represented for a long time left. It was one of those things where I knew it could happen and it wasn’t anything I could control. That was the worst day because it was someone I’d really worked hard for and was close to.

What was the the best job or best day in the entertainment industry?  When everything just goes right for a client and you know they appreciate it. It happened recently at a screening for the premiere of a client’s show. Her first scene was up and she was just smiling at the screen. She turned and waved and I thought, all the hard work that she put in, all the hard work we put in over the years, it’s just all paid off. It’s not about someone winning an award, though that happens and it’s great. It’s about the day-to-day, when everything just works. It happens maybe once or twice a year and it’s the best.

What’s the best thing about being an agent?  I think it is those moments. Another recent example is a client who had gone in (to meetings and auditions) probably 20-something times for a show. When she finally booked it, I was just so happy for her.

What’s the worst thing about being an agent?  It’s the things you can’t control. You can’t control if someone doesn’t get a job because they look too much like somebody’s ex‑spouse. (Yes, that’s happened to me.) Or because they just had a bad day or got
nervous or because someone else was more right for the part.

I’m looking for a brush with greatness. (It can be a celebrity encounter or just being exposed to someone who is brilliant at what they do.)  My favorite over the years of dealing with celebrities was always Johnny Cash. When I was at APA, he was doing county fairs and touring. He was just a name on the client list that someone had to take care of and I was working with him a lot. I remember he actually called my house early one morning when my parents were visiting. My father answered the phone and it was Johnny Cash asking for me. He was a legend.

So what’s the one thing you wish you’d known when you started?  To just appreciate it. I think certain times, even with the bad things, you need to just appreciate them, and really pay attention and learn from them.

And along the same lines, what do you feel is the secret of your success and/or what advice would you give somebody starting out now?  One of my secrets is not a secret. It’s just working really hard. I think another key is having a sense of humor.

What’s your next move or your next five moves?  If I was doing something else, I think it would be more community oriented, like teaching or being involved in some sort of charity. I can’t see going into producing or management right now, which is a common path for agents. I love being an agent.

Click here to read more about Mark’s career path and views on agenting, as well as getting two other agents’ POVs.

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Josh Randall works a lot. Even when he’s not shooting a film or TV show, he is at meetings and auditions for upcoming projects. And, as he says below, the work you do to get the work is often more arduous than actually shooting a role. But he’s obviously doing something right on both counts, as he is a very sought-after member of the Hollywood community. YII was lucky to get a chance  to find out about his journey and pass along a few of his hard-earned lessons to our readers.

Current part: I am about to shoot a movie called SAY HELLO TO STAN TALMADGE directed by David Moreton. They’ve shot most of it and the director decided he wanted to add another dimension to it, a window into the future. The rest of the movie takes place in the 70s, I am in the present day.

College & degree: I started as a Civil Engineering major at UC Davis, but I realized engineering wasn’t for me and ultimately got a degree in English lit with a creative writing emphasis from San Francisco State.

Internships (if any): Nope. I worked as a grip on movies while I was a student (practically for free), but that was more of an apprenticeship.

Acting while in school (professional or amateur): The first major thing I did that made me think I should be an actor was in college. I was paired with a playwright in a writing  class who had me read scenes from his work with him. He ended up putting on a play at school and cast me as one of the three leads.

Day job while you were working towards being a working actor: I was a grip, mostly on rap videos. I started out during school and then after graduation, carrying sandbags and eventually working on technical aspects of the job. I had a DP friend and I ended up as a key grip on some of his jobs. He kept me afloat while I was doing theater and striving to be a working actor. I always had a play in my tool belt that I would study during down time.

First post-graduate acting job: It was a play in Berkeley, one of my favorite acting experiences to date (and it actually paid a little). Around the same time, I was working as a grip on a movie in Santa Cruz called SOMEBODY IS WAITING with Gabriel Byrne starring and Martin Donovan directing. They needed someone to play the main bank robber. They thought I looked mean so I got the job.

How did you get repped? I’d moved to LA and gotten some things on my own so I had a head shot and a bit of a resume and I knew an assistant at Don Buchwald. I got hip-pocketed (Editor’s note: That’s where an agent sends you out without actually signing you as a client.) I got a few auditions, went on some things and didn’t get them then, and while I was out of town on a family emergency, they dropped me. First real rep was a manager named Carolyn Govers. She repped me for seven years and was  really, really helpful. That changed things for me after she signed me.

What was your first significant paid acting role? I did a pilot called “Stuckeyville” for CBS, which CBS decided not to pick up. But since Worldwide Pants, David Letterman’s company, was the producer of “Stuckeyville,” Les Moonves, the head of CBS, agreed to let them shop it around to other networks (which was unprecedented at the time- typically, when a network doesn’t pick up a pilot it develops, that project is dead). It was refashioned as “Ed” for NBC the next year. It was a huge deal for my career. I’d done little guests roles- one on “Angel,” for instance- but nothing like this.

Since then? I’ve done several pilots that didn’t get picked up, including one called “True” with Ann Heche created by Kari Lizer (“The New Adventures of Old Christine”), and a bunch of guest star roles. I was also on a series called “Courting Alex,” which was on for 13 episodes. One of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had was working on “Pushing Daisies.” After two episodes, I was scheduled to go back for more, and was thrilled about what Bryan Fuller had described was in store for my character, but sadly ABC did not pick up the show for the back nine (episodes).

Do you continue to train (acting classes, coaches, workshops)? I always challenge myself to learn. I think it’s important, particularly to retain a sense of enthusiasm (the audition process, when you are lucky enough to get sent out a lot, can start to feel like a means to an end). I continue studying with new people because it keeps it challenging and interesting. I worked with Tom Todoroff in the early years. I was in class with Invana Chubbuck for a while. Now I train privately, and have also worked with Steppenwolf West. There’s something great about being in a play or even working on a scene in a class, that helps preserve whatever it was that made you want to be an actor in the first place.

Has ageism been a factor in your experience as an actor? Not so much for me, because I was cast a little older when I was in my 20s and now I’m playing my age. But I think it’s particularly an issue for women. To be an actor by profession is very challenging, but for women, it’s that much more so.

Have you used your acting career- or are you planning to use it- as a way of branching into producing or directing? I haven’t yet- though I was on the boards to direct an episode of “Ed.” Unfortunately, the season got cut short, but I’d started to prepare and pay attention in a very specific way at that time, so I got a lot out of the experience. I would like to make my own movies that I would write and direct.

Eureka moment (when you realized you did or did not want to do something or that you should do something differently, etc.): I’d been playing basketball at San Francisco State and I was in my last year of eligibility and a play came up and I had to decide whether to be on the basketball team or do the play. I realized there was something more significant and defining about the play. I was nervous about making that decision, but as time went by, I realized more and more that it was the right one.

Describe a typical work day (either when you are working on a project or working to get a new project): In some ways, a “going to set” day can be easier than a “going out to acquire work” day. If you have more than one big audition in a day, it can be really trying. For one, it can be challenging to stay up and be sharp during a day of auditions, whereas when you are working on set, you have the luxury of other actors to work off of. Also, at the very least, you get a camera rehearsal, and you don’t have to actually create the world as much, you have the world laid out for you. When auditioning, you are driving all over town, getting yourself fed, and having a couple of changes of clothes for multiple appointments. You’re a suited up lawyer for one role and a blue collar worker for another, for instance. It can make for a challenging day.

Best thing about being a working actor: To make a living doing something creative is a pretty great thing, and something to be grateful for no matter how trying aspects of it can be at times. I also love getting to travel and meet new people all the time.

Worst thing about being a working actor: No matter where you are in your career, stability is going to remain an illusion. It’s always a bit of a fight no matter where you are in the pecking order.

Brush with greatness: Very early on, when I was a grip on SOMEBODY IS WAITING, I was on the set watching Gabriel Byrne doing a scene and it didn’t look like much was happening. That night, like every night, the cast and crew watched dailies being projected in 35 mm. I remember watching Gabrielle Byrne’s close up and there was so much going on, even though he wasn’t doing much. It was a learning experience.

Secret of your success/advice to the newbie: I think it’s really important to have something else in life to ground you. It could be meditation or religion for someone, community service, a meaningful family life, or another creative endeavor, something. As actors, we’re always being told when we can act and when we can’t and having something else in life will minimize the career peaks and valleys. Also, if you go into an audition and EVERYTHING is riding on the audition, you can’t be your best. The people in those rooms have very sensitive desperation radar. It can have an effect on your work and on your piece of mind. It’s really dangerous to have your sense of self-worth entirely attached to being hired as an actor. Also along those lines, with the changing technology and resources that are available for almost no money, if you have an idea that is stimulating to you, there is no reason not to produce it yourself.

Next move: I’m taking steps to have a more proactive hand in my career, to be more actively involved. And that could be to create my own material to act in, but not limited to that.

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