Vancouver agents at Trisko Talent Management defy TV stereotype

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      Anyone who’s seen the TV show Entourage is likely familiar with Ari Gold. This character, played by Jeremy Piven, conveyed to the world that some Hollywood agents are foul-mouthed, hyperaggressive, short-tempered workaholics.

      The mere mention of Ari Gold causes the three actors’ agents at Vancouver-based Trisko Talent Management to erupt in laughter during an interview in the company’s second-floor boardroom in Yaletown.

      “I think the Ari Golds are out there—and there are some small-town Vancouver agents that play Ari Gold,” Dylan Maher tells the Georgia Straight with a wry smile. “The stereotype exists for a reason.”

      However, Maher, Aaron Alexander, and company founder Natasha Trisko are quick to insist that this isn’t their way of doing business. The company recently won the Georgia Straight readers’ vote for best local modelling and talent agency in the annual Best of Vancouver issue.

      According to Trisko, it was because each agent has a different set of skills, enabling the company to represent clients seeking work in film, TV, commercials, voice-overs, modelling, and motion capture.

      Trisko says the trio represents about 250 actors, taking an industry-standard 15-percent commission for placing clients in films and television programs. The commission is 10 percent for finding theatre work.

      So what does it take to succeed as an actor?

      “You have to constantly train,” Trisko says. “You’ve got to hone your craft. You’ve got to take care of yourself physically, mentally, and you’ve got to be willing to put in the work. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a road to get there, and it’s a hard road.”

      She started representing actors at the age of 19 after studying business at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. At that time, Trisko was too young to sign contracts, so she would bring them back to her boss to approve. Within six years, she struck out on her own, running her business out of a condo in Gastown, beginning in 2006.

      “It was exciting and scary,” she recalls. “Most of my actors that were with me at the previous company ended up coming over, and we had a solid roster from the beginning.”

      She invited Maher into the company because he had some experience in both acting and casting. Alexander, also an experienced actor, joined later.

      Alexander says with a laugh that actors sometimes think their agent doesn’t understand what career path they want to take.

      “I’m like, ‘Your agent probably knows exactly the type of career path you should take,’ ” he adds. “There’s no fast track.”

      The company’s client list includes actors Mackenzie Gray, Diana Bang, Karin Konoval, and Chelah Horsdal, as well as comedians Ryan Beil and Darcy Michael.

      Another client, actor Aleks Paunovic, is generating a lot of work in motion capture. This involves recording the movement of people or objects for use in animation, filmmaking, and video games.

      Maher says that just as it’s possible for one actor to play a multitude of characters in voice-over work, the same is true of motion capture. He notes that one of the keys is for an actor to be mindful of space and how their body should move when it’s the basis for larger-than-life digital characters.

      “The technology is getting cheaper and more accessible,” he adds. “Actors that are learning how to play and act in that world are giving their agents more tools.”

      These days, Trisko maintains that business is good, thanks in part to the low value of the Canadian dollar. That makes it more affordable for U.S. producers to film in Vancouver.

      “It’s having a huge impact, a massive impact,” she says. “It’s very good times for Trisko.”

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