We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Patrick Reidy a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Patrick, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Looking back, do you think you started your business at the right time? Do you wish you had started sooner or later
Looking back I wish I would have got into the film industry sooner when I was younger. If I would of known I would of had such a passion and desire to do this getting into it sooner would of helped a lot more then getting into it in my 30s but either way glad I have decided to do it. I started my business this year in October or 2025 and honestly just got tired of having to rely on everyone else and decided to take matters into my own hands to where I control how I go about doing things. I have been in this industry 6 years and have already been doing this kind of thing for everyone else so I felt the best move next was to just do it on my own terms with my own business. I think if I would of started when I was younger I would be further along in my career but I am learning either way and going for it.
Patrick, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Well, I have always enjoyed movies since I was a kid and going to the theater. I never saw myself as outgoing enough to be in this industry but by chance I saw an ad for a local talent agency and decided to take a leap of faith and go for it. Of course I wish I had known I’d love it so much and would of got into it sooner but a lot of great film industry professionals have started late in their age and went on to have great careers which is what I am hoping for. So with my business I offer casting director services to cast anyone’s project it can be a short film , feature film , tv series or even commercial work whatever they need they can come to me and I will find them the talent they need. I also offer being a talent agent as well for up and coming actors trying to get into the industry and help guide them and find them work. Other then that I am also an actor myself and work as I can on any production which could be a production coordinator, location scout , producer, or even a PA. Whatever gets me on a set to help is where I want to be. The achievement I am most proud of is simply getting outside of my comfort zone and trying something new that I never thought about doing before and getting into the film industry where there is so much creative freedom and art to explore and really let’s introverts and people like me express their creative side and make great films! I hope the one thing I can give everyone is to show that no matter what you can try something new and find a passion you didn’t know you had.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
When starting my business I pretty much decided how I wanted to go about it and made a plan of what I needed to do to make it happen. With the help of my wife we put an idea together and made a list of things I needed to do and marked them off one by one as needed and the start up capital wasn’t much so I funded it out of my own pocket but at least it was a start until I get onto the bigger investments which I will plan accordingly.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I was new to the industry i definitely didn’t know any better and got taken advantage of and lost money by plenty of people who pretended to be my friend or could take you to great big time places in the industry but all it was in the end was people who were great salesman and could lie and sell you anything to make you believe. So I did learn hard lessons and lost money but now I am also wiser and know what to do look for so I can help other new comers not run into the same scams and lies I did. It almost made me quit the industry entirely but I loved it to much to let some crooks take me down so I persevered and kept at it and now I own my own business in this industry.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1st_take_casting?igsh=MXU3aGcyMGl4MWQ1bg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BmWeLg33P/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-reidy-80578838b?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
