Contact info for casting agents in Berlin

Im a 20yr old english speaking actress from Ireland. I was just wondering if anyone could give me any tips on where to go or who to speak to about acting work in Berlin or surrounding areas? I have no German and only a few years experiance, nothing fancy! If anyone has any tips would be very greatful:)

To get work here as an actress here it does help to speak good German not always necessary but if you can't speak German you could always try the film Extra agencys

heya,

one of my friends is also looking for something like that - next questions: how to find the film extra agencies? do they charge for registration? should you have a portfolio?

thanks

OK a friend of mine works as at a Casting Agency here in Berlin I could pass on his Email address if anyone is serious PM and I will pass on his details

BC

Hi i'm also an native english speaking actor new to Berlin so any casting director contacts or even extra agency details would be warmly appreciated.

Here are a few links to get you started. For English speakers, there's a pretty good amount of work available as a film/tv extra (Komparsen), small roles/bit parts (Kleindarsteller), voice-over, and unpaid work in student and independent projects. But if you're looking for more serious or well-paying work, it's best to either focus your energy on learning German or go swim in a smaller pond where the fish speak English. Berlin is absolutely crawling with unemployed polyglot actors who will work for free if necessary, and Germany is generally not the place anyone goes looking for exclusively anglophone talent. Still, an Irish accent can be a HUGE asset for voice/theatre work, and a 20-year-old female has about the best chance of anyone at getting a modelling job (which can be handled quite easily in English).

Here you go; good luck!

Iris Muller (Komparsen & Kleindarsteller)

Agentur Filmgesichter

Stemmen - casting for voice actors (English)

Actorscut (German)

Craigslist - often used for English-language casting

English Language Theatre

Can I just say that any Agency that you sign up with on here
if they want money up front to register with them asks them if they will take the fee out of any earnings that they will get you
that way they don't not sign you up just for the fee

as it has been known to happen before

Sorry to say the chances of getting an acting job in Berlin are 0.

Yes I know it's harsh but if you spoke German and could play a confused, 'auslander'... join the list, according to the stats and the fact that the entertainment industry is in a tail spin...

Forget acting jobs, bar jobs and the likes. The only thing you are likely still to find employment in is the, 'Adult Entertainment', sector or debt collection. The other big problem is you won't get a penny from the state here, in fact they won't even give you the paperwork to apply. How do I know all of this you may ask? Best of luck.

Sorry I disagree with the above posting as there is a lot of American films being and have been produced recently at Babelsberg studios
that have been wanting and needing locally based English speacking actors

Aye just rock on up to Babelsberg and ask for a job... happens all the time and they say, 'My goodness this is fantastic! We can't find extras anywhere these days. Would 1000 € a day be OK in cash'?

Blue if you don't have a clue about a question apart from a Google then best leave it.

If you want an idea about English actors in Berlin have a look at...

http://www.friendsconnectionberlin.de/index.php

See what they have done and of course apply to the agency. I must add I know no one who can live from it but good luck.

Sorry but before you go attacking some one on this forum try and find out who that person is as I keep my private life and my work life well away from this forum because of posters like yourself

So I presume that you are an actor who cannot find work here maybe you should try a few other agency that are up and coming as I'm an actor and do know exactly what I'm talking so please lets not turn this topic into something from a Ricky Gervais sit com
and yes it is possible to work and live on acting work here if you have the right contacts here in Berlin but only if you try hard enough
But if you need some tips come down to one off my meet up's and I would gladly discuss this more with you in person

BC

I'd love to come to one of your workshops but I don't think I'm cut out to be in a, 'Milka', ad. as a pantomime cow or consider it as acting.

Hmm can't win an disagreement so you resort to insults

It's not a disagreement, it's quite clear you don't have a bloody clue what you are talking about in any shape or form be that Bovine or Homosapian. If you did you could post a list of the Babelsberg connected Production Companies looking for non-german speaking talent on a full time basis. You can't so you don't because it doesn't exist and you enjoy the idea that people think you do because you can spell, 'Google'. Apart from that you could get on the bus.

So you never got asked along to a Casting for the Roman Polanski film that was shooting recently at Babelsberg
or the Quentin Tarantino production or Valkyrie all requiring English speaking actors

oh and I give up trying to acknowledge you on this tread as you are obviously looking for an argument judging from your other posts on this board as you are clearly right and I am wrong in your head

so you can have the last say as that is what you want

for what it's worth, i agree with blue cow and commend his taking the higher road by not letting this turn into a typical TT mudslinger.

the entertainment industry is connections-based, and HAL talking about job postings and his not spelling out what he really knows on the matter other than his perceived high-levels of reasoning tells me that he doesn't know much more than anyone else on the matter but likes to think he does.

everyone's evidence is willy nilly a bit anecdotal so take it on that and that alone. this whole my anecdote carries more weight than yours is a bit absurd. there is no recipe as to how to find work as an expat. wouldn't that be nice...

Blue Bell,' The Pianist ', which Roman Polanski directed was shot here 2001 which was eight years ago so your use of the concept of, 'recent', shows once again you have no idea. So there are three films in eight years that need English Actors living in Berlin? You forgot Mr Bourn by the way.

So to get over shoeing the horse let me say that I'm not talking cluelessly because I work in the industry.

hxiqqyx: It's clear that the roles are 90% sorted before they hit Berlin. The roles allocated here are bit roles with a line if you are lucky. As for connections that be true of most things in life... but... your Berlin connections will be of little use getting a role on an English speaking film produced from Hollywood.

I have no idea how one could live on five thousand euros in seven years but that is the situation you are entering into based on Berlin's english speaking film production or theatre. Sorry but then again you never know. Good luck.

that is not true, I did casting for commercials many companies liked the accent i had with the broken german I could speak at the time.
I also did modellling without speaking a word of german for german companies.
All it takes is the will and desire and time to go to casting agents. (I was working full time and had difficulty to make castings)

One poster made a list, super, call these people, or send them your castingcard, and see where it goes. Making an attempt is better than nothing.

Good luck.

'I have no German and only a few years experiance'

I wish posters like Carm who wasn't working as an actress or actor would read the initial post now and again, be able to explain, 'castings', are unpaid, one needs experience, German ad industry is in a tailspin, budgets have been chopped in half for the major private TV productions, etc. etc. etc. I mean none of you have any notion. Suggestions like making sure you have a very good show reel and excellent photo set don't even occur to you? As Sir Alan would say, 'bloody clueless'.

Here's your fact for the day. The chance of making a living as an inexperienced actress who only speaks English in the German Film and TV market is pretty much 0.

If you were an experienced German actress speaking, English, French and Italian you have about a 1 in 1000 chance of making a living from it.

Apart from that the major casting agencies have closed books at present and there is one English theatre in Berlin run by volunteers.

The Ghost (2010 film) (Wikipedia)

Polanski is making a film... and...?

1 + 1 = they might need English speaking extras!

I got asked along to the Polanski casting way back in February or March I can't remember when exactly
and yes they where looking for British and American accents to speack English at the time unfortunately I did not get the job but that's casting for you

1+1=2 and not English speaking extras.

The post at the top of the page was about making it as an, 'actress', not an, 'extra'. An extra would get around 70€ a day. If they worked ten days a month that would be 700€ before tax and even that would be exceptional. Blue Cow of many long years professional acting experience and award winning performances hasn't got past the gates of Babelsberg. It may be the inability to 'speack', English... but there must be other issues.

The original post was about looking for acting work. I think the extra suggestion was a good one, better than say "give up and get a job as a waiter / street sweeper / sentient on board computer of a spaceship". All your posts on the subject are very negative, it's almost as if you didn't want the original poster to succeed!

Oh look what I found on Craigslist berlin today http://berlin.en.craigslist.org/tfr/1238754360.html

BlueCow - While I agree that Berlin is not 100% hopeless for aspiring anglophone actors (and surely someone here could offer more leads than the ones I posted above) I would caution people against sending their headshots and personal contact details to purported "casting agencies" that post anonymous ads without saying who they are. Having worked briefly in casting as well, I can safely say that NO reputable agency would seek applications without identifying themselves. However, plenty of predatory startups will lure out-of-work actors or wannabe models with vague promises of work, tell them how much potential they have when they've supposedly seen their specs, and then hit them up for a fee that they'll never see back. "Businesses" like that are the norm on Craigslist. So for the young actors reading this thread - don't be fooled.

As for the situation in Berlin, I can't stress enough that it's virtually impossible to make a living as an English-speaking actor here. It would be an extremely bad idea for anyone to come here and put all their eggs in such a flimsy basket. However, I think that for versatile performers with zero sense of shame and a regular source of income, there are lots of opportunities to supplement your wages, beef up your resume, and have a bit of fun in Berlin's entertainment industry.

actually I agree whole heartedly with Sockmonsters piece off advice above

Actually, I think Hal is doing her a favor. If you have no experience or training and woke one day and said "poof, I am an actor", I think the reality of the biz dictates that the success (whether in Germany or not) would be close to a 0% success rate. Most people that try it, fail. And extra work isn't acting... it's just cattle herding and you're one of the cattle. Also, I believe it is something like 97% unemployment rate for actors.

I also find it a bit odd to expect finding English entertainment work in a German country where entertainment IS in German--and in turn, not speak the language. Yeah, Carm did some modeling here and there... little commercial stuff... but that is the exception to the rule. In my early 20s, I was fortunate to do a couple off b'way and b'way shows. ... chorus, nothing big... But to get that job took a LOT of training... years. I just didn't show up and expect the world to recognize how wonderful I am. I use to get infuriated by the actors who came to LA saying they were actors because they took a month of acting lessons. Absurd! I spent lots of money, struggled to pay rent, sometimes skipped rent to pay for my lessons... ditched the landlord... sounds romantic now, but then, it was intense!

I can understand Cam's frustration, although, I think he could be a bit more tactful. But hey, we all have our stories! I understand why this touches a nerve.

I would like to thank everyone for replying to my topic. i would just like to say that i have found most your advice very helpful and was glad i didn't take it all to heart! i would like to thank blue cow specialy as a contact i made because of him led to me now having a bit of work which i am hopeful will lead to more work. any actors/actresses reading this DO NOT let people who say you cant do it get to you it 55% talent 45% luck so make your own luck:)

It would be really good if Blue Cow desisted from running a network of sockpuppets to enhance his/her ego. They are very poor actors in every sense.

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