We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mabel Thomas a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mabel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Have you signed with an agent or manager? Why or why not?
After high school, I moved to Atlanta and applied to every SAG-franchised agent I could find. Eventually, I signed with Azuree Talent Agency (which has since surrendered its SAG status). They promised big opportunities, cross-country auditions, and that they saw huge potential in me. I was thrilled. I signed the contract. Hell yes, agent acquired!
And then I waited.
And waited.
In nine months, I got four auditions—two for roles meant for 6’+ Black men (that’s not me) and two open calls I could’ve submitted myself for. When I tried to leave, I hit a contract clause stating I couldn’t sign with another agent for two years. That’s what the kids call “sus.”
Luckily, I got into a great drama school in Scotland, so it didn’t matter that I couldn’t get a southeast agent for the next two years. But I learned firsthand: no agent is better than a bad agent.
Fast-forward to third year. My classmates were signing with top-tier reps, and I felt like the only one without an agent (I’ve always had a flair for the dramatic). Then, a U.S. manager approached me. She had started as her son’s manager (first red flag), was also a self-promoting novelist (second red flag), made her clients record scenes she had written (third red flag), and those scenes were awful (fourth red flag). But desperation makes you colorblind.
Then, having been burned before, I went through the contract with a fine tooth comb: she wanted 20% of every creative endeavor I undertook. If I wrote a play? 20% to her. Did a Fringe show? 20% of every ticket sold. Sold a painting for $10? $2 for her. I told her I only wanted her to represent me as an actor and she ghosted me, honestly thank goodness. Another lesson: a bad agent isn’t just unhelpful—they can actively harm your career.
Finally, I signed with my current agent. They had rejected me (very politely) two times before. So what changed their mind? I brought two network recurring guest star callbacks (from open calls), a lead in an indie film, a BA in Acting from a good school, and—honestly? They needed someone in my demographic.
And even now, half the projects I do are ones I find and submit myself to. You don’t need an agent to be on Actor’s Access, to take classes, to book work. Yes, agents can open doors to higher-tier projects, but don’t rush into a bad deal just to say you have one.
No agent is better than a bad agent.
Don’t waste your money getting in front of an agent to do a 2 minute monologue (been there, done that) because those agents will literally tell you that they’re not taking on clients. The best way to get an agent is to get into a good class, work hard and be kind. Then talk to your teacher about how they’d recommend you get represented, once they’re familiar with you and your work.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I’m an actor and writer who splits their time between the US and UK. Since graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, I’ve written and produced SUGAR, a solo show that premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe and transferred to a short run in London. I’ve had lead roles in seven indie feature films, booked some network TV (that’s not out yet), and still haven’t learned to ollie on my skateboard. In the immortal words of Hannah Montana, “I gotta work it again and again ‘til I get it right.”
As a writer, I’m passionate about using my own life experiences to tell nuanced stories about queerness, sex work, and the profound impact of 2010s pop music.
Lately, I’ve been deep in the indie horror world. I’ve been decapitated, had my throat slit, lost an eye to a demonic clown, been strangled, shot, and even had my face eaten by a giant snake. And I’m currently on set, gearing up for another gruesome fate this Thursday. What I love about horror is that the barrier to entry is lower for emerging filmmakers—audiences are more willing to take a chance on an unknown horror film than an unknown comedy. That’s led me to work with passionate filmmakers across all genres, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. (Though it does make pitching yourself for the sequel tricky when a mossy Sasquatch has already ripped your throat out and watched the life leave your eyes in the first movie.)
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Talent as an indicator of success is a myth. From what I’ve seen and experienced, innate talent has very little to do with how well anyone does in this industry. Now, I do think talent can be useful—when you’re naturally good at something, you’re more likely to enjoy it and practice. But beyond that initial spark, success comes down to hard work, persistence, and a willingness to fail.
Acting is a skill. Like any skill, it can be refined with effort and experience. Sure, some people have a natural knack for it, but unless you’re a one-in-a-billion prodigy, there are always areas to improve. And even if you are a prodigy, raw talent alone isn’t enough—if you can’t hit a mark or adjust to direction, your best performances might end up out of focus and unusable in the edit.
The most valuable thing I’ve done for my craft and career is to get on set or onstage and fail. The first screen project I did after drama school? Not my best work. It’s not something I’ll ever win awards for (or necessarily want in the world), but it was essential. I had to book something, fall on my face, and get better. I only started feeling confident in my self-tapes after doing about 500 of them. I wasn’t even supposed to get into drama school—I was on the reserve list and got in because someone else dropped out.
Even if you graduate from somewhere prestigious or people have been telling you you’re talented your whole life, you still need to practice, hone your craft, and get on set. A big mistake I see actors make is assuming that because they’re talented, they deserve to only work on prestige projects.
Hard work and persistence will outpace talent in almost every case. The actors you love to watch on stage and screen are talented, for sure. But it’s their work ethic that got them to where they are.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
In the most extreme sense, capitalism is detrimental to art. We’re seeing it now-movies are being made as investments first and pieces of art second. Algorithms, not artists, are determining what movies and series get produced, the box office is being used as the only metric of success.
Art is only exciting when it risks failure.
Investments are designed to avoid failure.
When art is treated solely as an investment, it will never be exciting.
Failure is essential to making art. Leos Carax made one of my favorite super-out-there movies called “Holy Motors”. He did this after having one of his first films be a smash hit, another film sending him into such debt that it took him seven years to recover…then he made Holy Motors, which is regarded on reddit as a “very good film” (that matters more to me than rotten tomatoes, hot take). Artists must be allowed to take big risks and fail, otherwise what we end up with is one over-merchandised milk-toast franchise after another.
I don’t have a perfect solution to these problems, but I do know this: art thrives on risk. If we want more bold, original work, we have to champion the artists who take those risks. Go see indie movies in theaters. Watch them on YouTube and Vimeo. Tell your friends about the great films you’ve discovered. Engage with the creators you love. The more we actively support daring art, the less control algorithms and corporate interests will have over what gets made.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mabelthomas.wixsite.com/actor
- Instagram: @mabe_thebabe
Image Credits
Sydnee Noelle Photography @sydneenoellephotography
Payton Koehler @riverdazedigitaldesign