Budding Filmmakers and Professional Training in Germany

The increasing success of German films abroad is bringing German actors a greater number of offers of international roles. However it's still a long way there. Of the total of 15,000 German actors, between 2,000 and 3,000 have an ally in this tough battle – their agent.

Bernhard Hoestermann is one of Germany's most successful actors' agents. What's his secret? "Being open is an important basic principle of my work. If, for example, a role is available to several different clients from the agency then I make sure they all know it. If cooperation is to be successful, it's important that both the actors I represent and our partners on the production side have mutual respect for each other and do not see each other purely as playing cards in a strategy of poker."

A young profession

In contrast to in the Anglo-Saxon sphere where there is a long tradition of star agents, German actors' agents did not come on the scene till 1994 when the strict national licensing procedures were done away with. Today, there are roughly 250 agents active in Germany. Some of them are organised into two associations, the Verband Deutscher Schauspieler Agenturen (i. e. the association of German actor agencies) and the Verband der Agenturen für Film, Fernsehen und Theater (VdA) (i. e. the association of agencies for films, television and the theatre). Bernhard Hoestermann, Chairman of the Board of the VdA, explains their aims this way: "The VdA offers regular further-training courses because the job of an actors' agent is complex. On the one hand we have to advise our clients in an artistic respect: 'Which script is the right one? Which project will allow me to develop further in a different type of role, as I have long wanted to do?' And on the other hand, it's a question of totally pragmatic questions like tax and insurance contributions." A further aim is learning how to deal with the flood of material. The downloading of actor show-reels from the internet is intended to replace the more costly DVDs. The work of the association also encompasses such political aspects in respect to films as, for example, the "appropriate payment" within the framework of the new copyright law. From an international perspective, cooperation with theAssociation of Talent Agents (ATA) and European initiatives such as Shooting Stars is important. At the same time, there is also a focus on the maintenance and development of the career itself.

Never change a winning team – actor and agent

Alongside the myth of the "casting couch", numerous films deal with the "discovery of a star" and the way a career is built up. Examples are Hollywood blockbusters like A Star is Born or Fame, but also documentary films like Addicted to Acting (Die Spielwütigen, Andres Veiel, 2005) and Casting in Hollywood (Veit Helmer, 2005). In reality, however, things are much more down to earth: success has less to do with a chance stroke of luck, but rather much more with long years of hard work. And how did he get this multi-facetted circle of clients?"In many different ways – some actors approached me themselves or were recommended by colleagues; I got in touch with others myself. Besides regularly I go to auditions when people are graduating from acting school. Most of my clients are actors who do both theatre and films." Among them for instance along with Katrin Saß (Good bye, Lenin!) or Jessica Schwarz (Perfume), are new talents like Alexander Fehling who has just received his first award for the main role in the highly-strung drama And Along Come Tourists (Am Ende kommen Touristen, Robert Thalheim) about German-Polish relations.

Hand on your heart – are relationships always good? "Of course there are also difficult situations especially if you have to explain to a client why he didn't get a coveted role and a colleague did. At times like that you have to consolidate trust through being open. The same applies to negotiations with producers and directors. As an actors' agent one can never be "everybody's darling," Hoestermann warns; "we are mediators between various sides, but always very close to our clients."

A school for agents

Bernhard Hoestermann is a trained doctor. But former producers, business economists, actors or casting-directors also work successfully as agents. What prerequisites does one need in order to become an actors' agent? Hoestermann recommends: "Early on a practical stint in an agency to see whether one is suited to the mediator role at all." You need to have organisational skills coupled with strong nerves if you are to coordinate filming days with theatre appearances, for example. For artistic advice, dramatic skills are essential if one is to help select scripts. A basic knowledge of law along with negotiation skills is the basis for successful negotiations regarding fees. In turn, very good psychological skills help one master the balancing act of working in a network: the permanent maintenance of contacts with producers, directors and the press. This is the only way in which one can develop a feeling for the best opportunities for one's clients. What does the future of the profession look like in view of databanks of actors on the internet like The Spotlight or e-talenta? "I see such options as complementary," Hoestermann says. "Portals are not a substitute for face-to-face consultation which is important for actors and casters alike."

However a passion for working with actors is decisive, and having one's own experience in this field can do no harm. Anyone who has been on the stage or in front of a camera himself – even purely in a group of lay actors – is familiar with the conditions of the trade and can develop a greater understanding for the anxieties along with the expectations of the actors themselves – and, at the same time, also of one's own modest role. As an actors' agent one makes a substantial contribution to the success of individuals as well as to that of productions and films, but it's the actors who get the public acclaim. Particularly where actors' agents are concerned, personal vanity must remain in the background: Denn die einen sind im Dunkeln, und die andern sind im Licht. Und man siehet die im Lichte, die im Dunkeln sieht man nicht. (i. e. For some are in darkness and some are in light. You can see the ones in the light, those in the dark cannot be seen; Bertolt Brecht, The Ballad of Mackie Messer).

Flexible Schauspieler: Im Dschungel von Falsch und Richtig (i. e. Flexible actors: in the jungle of right and wrong) Do we need new actors? An interview with the acting-school directors Marion Tiedtke and Michael Börgerding, the director Thomas Ostermeier and the agent Bernhard Hoestermann about tomorrow's theatre and the consequences for training. In: Theater heute, No. 10/2007, pp. 4-17.