I think this is a good overview, Deb, thanks for posting it.
Mind you I take issue with:
They usually focus on screen work (e.g. films, TV dramas, and TV commercials) but they can help with theatre roles, and can sometimes specialise in voice work.
...especially for adult actors.
I think
Starnow focuses on screen. I don't think that's reflected in the UK acting industry and I think some of what they write could be a little bit unhelpful/misleading.
<Climbs creakily on to high horse and pontificates:>
"Can help with theatre roles?" that's rather dismissive! Theatre can be the backbone of an actor's and an agent's work and I do know a lot of actors (and therefore agents) who make their living (sort of!) in theatre. It depends on the agent and the client list. There's no doubt that agents will welcome the commission from commercials, but commission from a decently paid theatre tour or a season at Pitlochry or Keswick or working with a theatre ensemble like the RSC or a part in a long-running West End musical? It's likely to be pretty highly valued by an agent.
I don't agree with their assessment of "mid-career actors" either.
Agencies for mid-career actors - people who make their living as actors. They take people breaking out of featured extra roles, who are showing potential to do guest leads, and try to represent top-end actors too. .
This suggests that agents take on people who have appeared on screen as extras because they've had a couple of lines in something. Of course, if the actor has managed to put together a showreel showing several featured extras roles, that might interest an agent, but I honestly don't think this is the usual route to get an agent. Most people I know get an agent first and then get screen work - not the other way round. More commonly, agents have taken someone on either because they have seen them in a play or because they have seen them in a showcase or because they have seen them in a showreel or perhaps at a short film festival. This (I think) is quite likely to be because it's hard to get TV or Film work that shows off your acting skills well
before you get an agent. I think an agent is likely to want to see a bit more than: "It's up the stairs to your left, sir" before taking someone on. I'm also a bit

about "try to represent top end actors too". An actor isn't born/doesn't graduate "top end", they become "top end" because of the work they do. What I think agents definitely do is try to spot actors they think will
become "top end" and hang on to them if they fulfill the promise the agent has seen - that's a bit different, isn't it?
Pontificates a bit more:
I think the focus on screen work is a common and inaccurate public perception of the industry as a whole. There are so many jobs done by actors to make a living that are nothing to do with appearing on a TV or cinema screen - they're not all particularly glamorous or noticeable, but they do put food on the table and many of them do far more to advance a career than appearing in a one off commercial or a guest appearance in a soap (useful, interesting and financially rewarding though these experiences may be).
OOf. <Climbs creakily down again>.
I