Breakdown Services

The best casting service around. As an actor, I find the service very helpful in finding auditions.

I have been using Actor Access, Showfax for many years and more recently started using Casting About. They have all been valuable resources through out my acting career and I have booked many job through many submissions. I know it takes consistency and dedication to both the submission/​business side and the training side and I am very committed.
I have also recently started using the «Slateshot» feature on my profile attached for submissions and I already feel a difference in incoming auditions. Actors Access and Breakdown services provides an amazing tool for both myself and my team to get me in the room for auditions.
Brett Newton
(Production Company)

Actors Access is a good service for new actors looking for student films or non-​paying gigs. But Breakdown Express, accessed by casting directors and agents are where the best jobs are. Unfortunately that means needing an agent to submit you.

I would give this place ZERO stars if that were an option. I posted through this service for open membership for a non profit theatre company. I was originally told that I could post now and repost at a later date because our audition dates were about a month apart. However, that does not seem to be the case. I called and left a message for Kathleen, which was never returned. I waited about 1 week and called back and was forced to leave a message for Kathleen again, which she DID return. This time I asked why we aren’t being able to repost when A) it was the same post B) when we were originally told we could. She said they only allow posts that charge actors every 6 months. And that the post we originally posted was a courtesy post. My question then, is if it is a courtesy post, how can you charge me for it? AND on that subject, I asked where on the website this stipulation was and she said they don’t post «rules» on their site and they don’t have to. However, when determining how much to charge us to post (apparently it is based on how much we charge for dues) they based it on what we had on our website. How does that not work both ways? Not to mention her lackluster concern to come to an agreeable solution.

Actors Access it’s only another excuse to make the actors spend money!
Actor Access is part of a bigger service called breakdown service ltd. which is divided in: actor access for actors, breakdown express for talent agents & managers & casting directors and then showfax to get the sides and the screenplay…
The REAL CASTINGS (for the main tv, films and pilot commercial etc.)they are ONLY posted in BREAKDWON EXPRESS: That means ONLY the AGENTS or MANAGERS can see and apply for!
In ACTOR ACCESS are only the LEFT OVERS (that they can’t find in other ways) or NON PROFESSIONAL GIGS!
In conclusion IT’S NOT ABOUT THE ACTOR’S CONTROL as they advertise!!! BIG BULLSHIT!!!

As soon as i called, I was transferred before I even gave an explanation or reason for my call. Second person sounded like he hated his job and rather be doing anything else but sit there on the phone with me. I had to ask him to let me finish my sentences and stop interrupting, his response was «fair enough». I called to complain and supervisor by name of Brian words were and I quote «okay, we record the call so I’ll listen to it and go from there.»
Terrible phone ettiquete and absolutely no professionalism. It is horrible that they are still in business. Only with them because my agent pays for it, but so many better choices out there. Find the others and give them your money, not Actors Access.

I am literally fed up.
IF YOU HAVE HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE POST! THEY WON’T CHANGE UNLESS WE SPEAK UP
Not only is this service hugely overpriced for hosting photos and video media because they have monopolized the official breakdowns, but the video service is appalling.
I uploaded a one minute reel and had to call 3 times because they compressed my video and the sound sync was thrown off and highly pixelated.
My girlfriend just went through a similar issue where a highly pixelated video was uploaded, and they didn’t upload the second video she sent and didn’t send any notification.
They take advantage of the fact that actors are forced to use their service, and provide terrible overpriced service. What they need to realize is for actors, this is an extremely important marketing tool, not a hobby for most of us, and a necessary tool that actors and agents alike are forced to use to submit.
Also, a major flaw is the force you to crop to their size on photos. This can ruin the impression that the actor is trying to promote.
IF YOU HAVE HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE POST! THEY WON’T CHANGE UNLESS WE SPEAK UP

The service is almost necessary for actors, so for this reason I think they don’t care at all about customer service. If you visit this office, be prepared for either rude behavior or incompetence from the staff. I had so much trouble getting my reel uploaded correctly and having it returned to me. It seems that the workers just don’t care or are unhappy with their lives. I hope they can improve on their customer service. I’m scared to go back.

Am i able to cast my shows? sure… but not before i have to deal with some miserable person at their office. Everyone i have talked to in that office is angry… all the time. I know to expect horrible service from them so whatever… it is what it is.

I have enjoyed this service. For someone new to the field it helped in getting experience. Non-​paying work is a good opportunity to improve your reel. We have had some great auditions, and it has given us an opportunity to be seen by people who we wouldn’t have had access to on our own.

I have been on actor’s access for years and I am appalled at the way they, like many others these days screw over actors for a buck. I put up my 5 min. reel a few years ago for $ 50. Not exactly cheap, but now it will cost $ 88 for a 4 min. reel. Not to mention the fact the last 2 min. are exactly the same. I am so sick of these sites that we are forced to join screw over the struggling actors. Charge the casting directors and the production companies your exorbitant amounts. Not the actors, jerks!

I’m sure for actors it’s fine. BUT IF YOU ARE CASTING, USE BACKSTAGE.
If you see its owner or employees make a Tu Quoque countercomment below, and would like to see the complete story, feel free to PM me, and I will share all the screencaptures and the emails of what happened on our side when our company used Breakdown.
We will never use this company again.

The service staff when you go in the office is awful and clearly failed actors pissed off that others are still going after their dreams are the folks working in the front. The black guy on the front register when you walk in (the one wearing 2 large fake diamond stud earrings) is rude and hating life and taking it out on actors. If I’m handing you money, a ‘thank you’ would be nice. Call or email. Walking in is like asking for a rude encounter. Too bad they have a monopoly in the business.

Any actor who is serious at all about their career NEEDS to be an Actors Access.
In answer to the two previous commenters, YES, they do have non-​paying gigs on Actors Access, but they also have a huge amount of feature, online, episodic and theatre work and most of it is paying, as a matter of fact, there is plenty of union gigs there too (I’ve been a member for more than twelve years).
I would recommend that any actor really in any region put there headshot, and a SHORT reel on Actors Access then pay their yearly membership fee. That way all the submissions you send (and they literally will have hundreds from all across the country everyday) will be free.
There will be thousands of other people submitting with you by the way, so don’t expect an answer on every submission you send. The Competition is fierce, there are more than 200,000 actors in Los Angeles alone!
Why would deny yourself the opportunity to skip the middle man and submit yourself directly to Casing Directors who are looking for someone just like you?

it’s very hard to get auditions through actorsaccess unless you have serious credits and a good demo reel. i have been using it for 4 years now. The first couple of years — almost zero auditions. then i uploaded some clips for $ 22 a minute and added more pictures, $ 10 a picture, and started getting slightly more auditions starting in 2011 but still not enough

I have a paid subscription from Actors Access which is also part of Breakdown Services. Actors Access is great, with the exception that they have a lot of non paying gigs, and I often found myself doing gigs which did not pay me a dime and I would have to put money in, but didn’t really make the money back. Actors Access is the crumbs (left overs) from the real breakdowns from Breakdown Services– available only to agents of actors. Without representation Actors Access is a bit useless.
I also recently got the deal from them to upload video for $ 10 per minute, which was a great deal. And yesterday just got the app for the iphone for $ 12.99, a good deal since it used to be $ 25. The app is ok, I like the website better. With my new headshots uploaded and fresh demo reel, I’m looking forward to the next year of auditions.
Update: July 18, 2011.
Haven’t gotten any auditions yet with the 6 new professional photos I uploaded and the 3 different clips.
I expected it…
I only got three auditions so far for unpaid gigs from here in the 7 years I have been a member. I’ll probably renew it for another year.
I think it’s a great way to make money off of actors.