What is the difference between a Calling Service and a Casting Agency?
A Calling Service (Extra’s Management, Virgo Talent, Booked Talent etc…) is a service that requires a monthly or per job payment to acquire Extra work for you and make sure you have the required information for arriving to set on time and prepared. The service submits your profile to various casting directors and agencies who will book the appropriate clients for the background acting gig. For SAG or AFTRA Union Work it is almost imperative to acquire work through one of these types of agencies. A Casting Agency (Central Casting, Rich King Casting, Jeff Olan Casting etc…) is a company or individual who actually casts the Television Show, Movie / Film, Photo Shoot, Commercial or whatever project may need Background or Atmosphere Talent. Many of these agencies use both calling services and direct booking lines to fill the calls for their producer clients.
