For child actors just starting out, signing with an agency with a strong, proven reputation for nurturing talent can help put them on the industry’s radar. Good representation will open doors to auditions, and some of the best agencies also offer mentorship, guiding their young talent through the early days of their careers. Many kids who want to act are set on this career from a young age, and with good guidance, they can go on to achieve great things.
All children’s acting agencies are different. In a competitive industry where the best names in the business have limited spaces on their books, knowing what each of them is looking for and what they specialise in will help you choose the right one. Here’s a roundup of some of the best acting agencies for teens and children in the UK, what sets them apart, and how to apply.
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This agency belongs to the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School – which counts Ashley Walters, Nicholas Hoult and the late Amy Winehouse among its alumni – but its books are open to everyone. Unsurprisingly, it represents many Sylvia Young graduates, but only a small number of the students it sees each year get a spot on its books because the demand for representation is so high.
The agency looks after talent from around 5 years old through to young adulthood. Their website specifies that it’s unlikely they’ll represent anyone who looks older than 14, but that doesn’t rule out representing older teens who could play down in age. It specialises in radio, voiceover, film, TV, and commercials, so there’s a wide range of work available to clients. Actors on its books have landed West End stage roles too, including in Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
How to Apply to Sylvia Young Agency
Upload a minute-long drama piece to YouTube, Vimeo, or another video-sharing platform (mark it as unlisted so it’s shareable but not discoverable), and link it in your application form. If your child has other relevant skills like singing, dancing, or playing an instrument, they’re keen for you to include those in the video too, but it’s not compulsory. The agency reviews applications roughly once a month and gets back to all applicants with a decision, so you won’t be left wondering whether or not you’ve been successful.
Mark Jermin Management is one of the UK’s leading and largest dual agencies for adults and children. It was founded by Jermin as an in-house agency connecting students of the Mark Jermin performing arts schools with opportunities in the industry. Clients don’t have to be students of the schools, though, and the agency has built a strong industry reputation for representing young talent. It has around 100 child actors on its books.
The agency has a Welsh division and a northern England division, giving its talent access to the many opportunities in both creative hot spots. It accepts applications from all over the country and secures work for its clients in the UK and abroad in film, TV, theatre, commercials, presenting, and voiceover through its voice division, Mark Jermin Voices. Client credits include Laila Barwick’s appearance in Disney’s Young Woman and the Sea, Leo Harris’s in Lost Boys and Fairies for the BBC, and Alexa Goodall’s lead role in the English-language film adaptation of Momo alongside Martin Freeman.
The agency provides hands-on administrative support, which should make life easier for parents and clients. It also offers an in-house service to help production companies, other talent agencies, and parents of child actors sort performance licensing in the UK and Ireland. Its experience training children makes the agency well-placed to guide young actors through the start of their careers.
How to apply to Mark Jermin Management
The agency accepts CVs and headshots by post or email, with details on its contact page.
Launched in 2015, Hero is a smaller agency run by a former child star, Nicola Joy, and one of London’s top creatives, Nick Tasker. Joy began her career at age 8, so she knows firsthand what it takes to be a successful child actor. Her long career means well-established relationships with directors, casting directors, and producers. Tasker has worked in advertising for 15 years and brings a roster of international contacts to the business.
Hero aims to make life easier for casting directors by hand-picking a small, select group of talent from across the UK. That means it’s competitive, but it wholeheartedly invests in the young people it signs, running development programmes and acting as mentors as well as representatives. Its approach seems to work: young actors on its books have been placed in the CBBC adaptation of Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers, the film adaptation of Wicked, and household favourites like Call the Midwife and Doctors. Stage appearances for actors on its books include the 30th-anniversary revival of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing and Richard III at Shakespeare’s Globe.
How to apply to Hero
The agency only accepts applications from young talent already on Spotlight because of time constraints and the volume of applications it receives. Talent under 18 should apply with their Spotlight view pin here. That said, the agency sometimes searches for undiscovered talent across the UK on a few different platforms when it has capacity, so keep your profiles up to date and keep an eye on its Instagram and website for news.
Ardent Talent is a boutique children’s talent agency based in East Sussex, representing young actors from 4 to 24 across the UK. It was established in 2017 by Sarah MacDonnell, a founding member and Vice Chairperson of The AYPA (Agents of Young Performers Association), an organisation supporting agents of children and young people. A former actor herself and a parent to a successful former child actor, MacDonnell has loads of firsthand experience helping young actors and their families navigate the industry.
Ardent’s pull is its relationship with some of the top agencies in LA and New York, which offers its small number of clients some big opportunities. As a boutique agency, it aims to provide every young person on its books with individual guidance and expertise.
Its impressive credit list includes many recurring and regular roles in popular shows. It represents Gus Turner, who plays Henry Lasso in Apple TV’s Ted Lasso, and Archer Brandon, a regular in Biff and Chip for CBeebies. On stage, Renée Hart appeared in the West End transfer of Standing at the Sky’s Edge. Clients have also landed commercial credits for big brands like EE and Virgin Atlantic.
How to apply to Ardent Talent
The agency is especially keen to hear from child actors aged 4 to 11. Professional experience is preferred for under 16s and required for over 16s. To apply, email your name, age, height, location, headshots, details of experience, and a link to a reel or self-tape on a streaming platform like Vimeo or YouTube.
Top Talent’s kids’ division represents children from 4 to 15, with a separate division for adults. It was founded in 2008 by Warren Bacci, principal of Top Hat Stage and Screen School. Originally established to represent students of the school, it’s now open to everyone and welcomes new applicants throughout the year. Experienced agents and strong relationships with industry professionals in the UK and America have helped place its clients in national and international projects, including Masters of the Air on Apple TV, Sexy Beast on Paramount+, and the BBC soap Eastenders.
How to apply to Top Talent
Fill out this online form and a representative will let you know if they’d like you to follow up with a self-tape audition piece. If they’re keen to see more, they’ll invite you to audition in person.
Alphabet Kidz is a London-based model and talent agency established in 2003. Its clients have garnered impressive credits, including roles in TV’s Game of Thrones and I Hate Suzie; voiceovers for family favourite Hey Duggee; and stage appearances in Frozen and Matilda the Musical in the West End. It represents young talent for TV, film, commercials, voiceover, theatre, and script workshops.
Founder and director Lisa Balcombe also runs the Alphabet Youth Academy, offering monthly workshops and one-to-one support for talent. Its aim is to give young clients a toolkit of acting skills to draw on and help build their self-esteem.
Alphabet stresses the importance of knowing and developing each individual, led by the philosophy that “there is nobody else like you”.
In-depth resources on its website offer support for parents and kids, including a directory of drama schools and a lengthy FAQ page.
How to apply to Alphabet Kidz
There are spots on its books for children aged 4 to 16 who live up to an hour and a half from central London. Fill out the online form, which asks for measurements, relevant skills and experience, a headshot, and a full-length shot of applicants wearing a white top taken against a white background.
Bam Kidz (Brown and Mills) looks after child performers from the age of 4 through to 16, specialising in commercials, TV, film, and theatre. According to its website, it’s looking for talent with ‘that crucial sparkle’ who ‘have what’s needed to book work in this fast-paced entertainment industry’.
It expects a high level of commitment from its child actors, who must be available to travel internationally, audition, work at short notice, and have a guardian or chaperone ready to accompany them on jobs. It also works closely with parents, schools, and local child authorities to ensure its child actors’ school attendance stays above 95%.
Its clients have worked on big titles – The Lazarus Project for Netflix, Wonka for Warner Bros, and Lagging for the BBC among them – as well as projects for Amazon, CBeebies, ITV, Paramount+, and West End theatre productions like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Its actors also land consistent commercial work for big brands like Lego. While commercial credits might not be the pinnacle of your child’s aspirations, they’re a great opportunity to practise in front of the camera and often come with a nice paycheque.
How to apply to BAM Kidz
The agency is particularly keen for applications for boys aged 8 to 13 and teens aged between 16 and 21. To apply, fill out this form, including links to any external videos and images, plus a Spotlight link if you have one. It also asks for your LEA (Local Educational Authority) and licensing turnaround for your child performer, so it’s worth getting hold of that information before you apply.
Bonnie and Betty was established by agent Bonnie Breen in 2009 and represents models, actors, and children with other performance specialisms. They look after babies through to 16-year-olds, and their clients work across photographic, commercial, TV, film, and stage productions. Clients have appeared onstage at the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Barbican, and in West End productions. TV and film credits include projects for Netflix, HBO, Sky Atlantic, CBeebies, BBC, and ITV. They’ve also landed commercials for big brands like Mattel, Persil, Tesco, and even high-end fashion house Gucci.
The agency’s website highlights its personal approach to representation, which includes keeping its numbers low and only signing children it’s confident it can secure work for. It has northern and southern divisions, in Manchester and London, respectively, and between them it represents opportunities happening across the country.
Its website offers a dose of realism, reminding hopeful clients that castings are normally very short notice and shoots almost always take place during school hours. It stresses the need for babies and toddlers to have a content disposition. Children and teenagers must be well-behaved, confident, and enjoy meeting new people – important things to bear in mind before applying for representation.
How to apply to Bonnie & Betty
Keep an eye on its Instagram account and register for its mailing list so you know when it opens up its books. Its acting division asks for a CV outlining experience and training, so have one ready for when the time comes.
Daisy & Dukes is a modelling and acting agency. It was founded in 2011 by Michelle Kirby, an experienced agent and mother of her own child actor. Kirby uses her firsthand experience to support the children on her books and their parents. The agency emphasises championing every child’s individual talents and prioritising their well-being and happiness.
Its success stories span television, film, theatre, radio, and commercial work, including stints for its young performers in soaps like Eastenders and Casualty and West End theatre productions like Matilda the Musical and Les Misérables.
How to apply to Daisy & Dukes
It accepts children from babies through to teenagers: fill out the form on its website, and if your child is successful, they’ll be invited to an audition.
It might be competitive out there, but plenty of experts are ready to help young talent navigate the early stages of their careers. Remember, agencies want the children they sign to be successful too. While your acting agent should work for you, the best agent-actor relationships are a collaboration. An agent is part of an important support network that can take your child’s ambitions to a professional level.
