In my doctoral research on Victorian serials, I often explored the concept of the Editor, not just as a corrector of spelling, but as a curator of public taste. The editor was the invisible hand that decided which stories were told, which characters flourished, and which narratives were cut short.
In the modern talent industry, that editor is the Agent.
For this edition of Voices of the Industry, our series dedicated to the unvarnished truths behind the glamour, I sat down with Alex Segal, Managing Director of InterTalent.
Alex is a man who manages a roster of 300 clients and a team of 50, all while running and sharing about his own experience in his newsletter, Dealmakers.
I must confess, I came to this interview armed with a structured list of 34 questions (or more). And I asked perhaps four of them.
Alex was incredibly gracious with his time, especially for a man who runs a 50-person agency while managing his own roster. But as soon as we began, the conversation took on a life of its own. It became a fascinating, organic exchange where one anecdote cascaded into another, from the philosophy of decision-making to the grit of early career failures.
I found myself setting my notes aside, captivated by the narrative flow. By the end, I was left with that rare feeling of having barely scratched the surface, already wishing for a Round 2.
Here is what I learned from our wide-ranging conversation about the art of the Active Scout, the burden of choice, and why the best agents are actually architects of regret management.
We tend to look at the talent industry through the lens of Jerry Maguire or Entourage, fast cars, faster deals, and effortless shouting matches on cell phones. But as Alex told me, the reality is far more grounded.
"It's not Entourage," Alex laughed. "It's a lot of emails, a lot of messages, a lot of phone calls... a lot of hard work."
That hard work is quantified by a schedule that would make most of us wither. Alex revealed that his day typically spans from 6:30 AM to 12:30 AM, leaving about five or six hours for sleep. It isn't driven by external pressure, but by an internal drive he describes as being a "neat freak" about communication.
"I respond to messages overnight," he admitted, noting that he refuses to let his inbox get "out of control." In total honestly, I can related to that, I dread mine getting unmanageable too.
In a "cutthroat" industry where "egos and talented people" don't adhere to a 9-to-5 schedule, availability is the currency of trust. Alex chooses to be in the office five days a week, not because he has to, but because the continuous nature of the business demands a presence that "work-life balance" rhetoric often fails to capture.
For Alex, the stress comes not from the work itself, but from the idea of leaving a client pending.
Navigating a career in entertainment, much like in marketing, is a series of imperfect choices. How do you decide which project to take? Alex shared a pragmatic framework he uses to guide clients through the noise: the Two-out-of-Three Rule (and since the interview, I’ve been trying it myself!)
Every opportunity is judged against three criteria:
"If a job meets two of the three, it is worth doing," Alex explained.
It’s a simple but brutal filter. A high-paying job that is miserable and leads nowhere? Rejection. A low-paying indie film that is creatively fulfilling and builds prestige? Acceptance. It’s a tool for clarity in a world designed to confuse you.
But what happens when the choice isn't about the job you take, but the one you turn down? This is where the stakes get terrifying.
Alex shared the story of an actor, a long-time client, who was offered a prestigious role in a West End play. It was safe, respectable, and paid the bills. But the actor had massive TV ambitions. He turned the play down. He chose to remain unemployed rather than take a role that didn't fit his narrative arc.
Alex described the visceral weight of that moment:
"When you make the decision, you kind of hold onto your hat and go, 'I hope it's a good one.'"
This is the Rule of Least Regret. When faced with two imperfect paths, you don’t ask "Which is better?" You ask: "Which worst-case scenario can you live with?"
If the actor had taken the play and missed a TV breakout, the regret would have been corrosive. By turning it down, he bet on himself. In marketing, we are often terrified of the "wrong" choice. Alex’s philosophy reminds us that indecision is the only fatal error.
In an algorithmic scene, it is easy to find good creators. You open TikTok, you scroll, you see who is trending. Alex calls this Reactive Scouting, stumbling upon talent that the machine has already served up.
"Reactive scouting is scrolling through Instagram and going, 'Oh, he's good.' That's reactive," Alex noted. "You're not really looking for anyone. You just stumble upon someone."
But true success comes from Active Scouting.
"Active scouting is saying: 'I have a taste,'" Alex explained. "I want to represent an entrepreneur... I'm going to go into research mode and data mode... and find that person to fill that spot."
He recounted visiting a drama school showcase where every student had already been signed by other agencies, except one.
"He was the only person in the show... that wasn't signed," Alex recalled. "I was smashing my head against the wall because I was too late... [but] he was the only one I wanted."
That leftover (for a better term) student has now been with Alex for 13 years, working on massive films. That is the ROI of Active Scouting.
"That is the proudest you can be," Alex said, "seeing something in someone that no one else sees."
Perhaps the most poignant moment of our talk was when Alex reflected on resilience. He shared a sliding doors moment from his early career that defined his trajectory.
He had once made a treacherous, two-and-a-half-hour journey through severe snow for a job interview, only to arrive and find the agency closed. No notification. No warning. Most of us would have gone home furious and given up.
Instead, Alex sent an email, strong but polite, detailing his effort and his disappointment. That email didn't just vent frustration; it showcased character. The hiring manager was so impressed by his determination that they brought him back.
"The biggest decision anyone can make is deciding to get out of their own way,"
He put his ego aside, swallowed the insult of the forgotten interview, and secured the role that would eventually lead him to becoming an MD. It’s a reminder that in this industry, tenacity often outranks talent.
Finally, we touched on his educational platform, Dealmakers. For decades, the role of the agent has been shrouded in mystery, behind the curtain, as Alex put it.
He admitted he initially hesitated to launch his newsletter, fearing that agents shouldn't be more famous than their clients. But he realized that after 17 years, he possessed the substance to teach the next generation. Dealmakers is the handbook he wishes he had when he started, a way to formalize an industry that lacks guidebooks.
"Uplifting other people's talent is what we do."
Whether that is a client on a stage or a junior agent reading his Substack, the mission remains the same.
As we wrapped up, I realized I still had 30 questions left on my pad. We hadn't even touched on the nuances of AI in contracts or the future of digital IP. But that is the mark of a truly engaging conversation, it leaves you hungry for more.
Alex Segal is a master storyteller who understands that in business, as in literature, the most important character trait is the courage to edit your own life with conviction.
For more insights on the mechanics of talent management, I highly recommend subscribing to Alex’s newsletter, Dealmakers, where he breaks down these strategies for the next generation of agents.