Although we all know many of the hundreds of names that form Hollywood’s extensive glitterati, their talent agents remain a relative unknown. These people are extremely influential and powerful, hired to act on behalf of their clients to secure the best roles for the best fee. If competition between talent is fierce, it is even more so between their agents, who must often be ruthless in their work.
Four agencies represent the majority of Hollywood talent, from actors and musicians to screenwriters and directors. These are Creative Artists Agency (CAA), William Morris Endeavour (WME), United Talent Agency (UTA) and International Creative Management (ICM).
Theresa Peters joined the United Talent Agency as a partner in 2008 and has since then become one of Hollywood’s most powerful women. Just as many people involved in showbiz begin their careers on the outside looking in, working the more undignified jobs until they catch their big break, Peters began her career in Hollywood working at one of UTA’s rivals. She describes her three months in the William Morris Endeavour mailroom as crucial, stating that she “learn[ed] more in three months than you would in three years running around this town…I got to see the whole process, and I was hooked.”
Peters began to work her way up the corporate ladder, gaining a position as the assistant of a talent agent, before progressing onto partner at the agency. As of now Peters is also head of the talent department at United Talent Agency, and represents a wealth of bankable Hollywood talent. Stars include Scottish actor Ewan McGregor and Sofia Coppola muse Kirsten Dunst, and she is associated with projects such as X-Men: First Class and the hit Danny Boyle film Trance. The Hollywood Report profiled Peters in their Women in Entertainment 2011: Power 100 list.
Fred Specktor is a legendary talent agent in Hollywood. Now 80 years old, he is the oldest talent agent in the industry and has garnered a great deal of respect and esteem, with booths often set aside for him in L.A’s best restaurants. Specktor has spent most of his career at Creative Artists Agency and represents silver screen greats such as Helen Mirren, Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Danny DeVito and Gene Hackman.
In recent years he pulled a move that stunned much of Hollywood when he poached screen legend Morgan Freeman from talent agency rivals William Morris Endeavour. Speaking in an interview with British Airways magazine, he explained the secret of his endurance and success as a talent agent: ‘I simply love what I do. Why shouldn’t I? For other people, their fun is to go to a movie, a play, a sporting event… that’s my work. I like the people I represent, who I am very loyal to, and I like the people I work with.’
Patrick Whitesell is one of the most powerful men in the entertainment industry. The co-CEO of William Morris Endeavour, he was made partner of the agency in 2001. Whitesell started his career as a talent agent at InterTalent in 1990, before moving onto United Talent Agency from 1992-1995 and final becoming head of the talent department at Creative Artists Agency until 2001.
He and his co-CEO Ari Emanuel have been described as “rewriting the Hollywood script” in recognition of their transformative influence on creative direction in Hollywood. Worth as much as any established star- a huge $25 million- this talent agent’s list of clientele is full of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men. Whitesell represents Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman.
MN2S Talent Agency provides a similar level of commitment and quality service to all its talent, who are available for booking for public appearances, after dinner speaking and brand endorsements.