Bad Manager vs Good Manager: What the Difference Actually Looks Like

I have had a bad manager and I have had a good one. The gap between them is wide, and it took living through both to see it clearly. If you are trying to decide whether to sign with someone, or whether the person you already signed with is doing the job, this is what the difference looks like in practice.

I wrote about leaving my first manager here, and about the first months with my new one here. This post puts them side by side.

The Bad One

My first manager worked like an agent. All she did was submit me to casting calls. Auditions I could have found myself, or that my agent was already getting me. There is nothing wrong with another set of eyes on the breakdowns, but that is not the job, and it is not worth a manager’s cut.

She did not understand where I wanted to take my career. I told her early that I could travel anywhere in the world for work. Later, when I mentioned auditions outside my region, she sounded surprised, like the conversation never happened. A manager who does not know your goals cannot pitch you toward them.

The communication was not there either. No texts. No emails beyond the occasional casting notice. I was paying for a relationship that did not exist. When I finally raised it, the response came too late to matter.

The Good One

My manager now does the actual job. She pitches me for projects she thinks I fit, before there is even a breakdown to respond to. That is the part an agent usually cannot do and a good manager can.

She has put me in rooms I could not have reached on my own. Auditions for major TV shows and films, including a lead role in a series starring Florence Pugh. She got me seen by Ellen Lewis, who casts Martin Scorsese’s films. Those are not opportunities that show up in a casting call you can self-submit to. They come from relationships, and from someone willing to spend those relationships on your behalf.

She also answers my emails. That sounds small. After the first experience, I can tell you it is not.

How to Find One

Here is the method that worked for me. Go to IMDb Pro. Look up the actors whose careers you respect and would want for yourself. Be realistic about it. Pick people at a level you could believably grow into, not the top of the A-list.

Find out who represents them. Then go to that management company’s website and look for two things. Whether they take submissions without a referral, and whether they are open to new clients right now. A lot of the good ones are referral-only or closed to outside submissions. The ones that are open are where you start.

Submit to those. Have real conversations with the ones who reply. And in those conversations, listen for the two things my first manager missed. Do they understand where you want your career to go, and will they actually talk to you once you have signed.