Njabulo Shelembe, an aspiring writer and producer recently shared on Facebook his disheartening experiences with untrustworthy talent agencies, often called fly-by-night agencies. His story highlights the challenges many actors face in the entertainment industry when dealing with unreliable agencies.
In 2014, Njabulo landed a cameo role in the popular South African opera, Generations Thee Legacy. Despite the role involving only two phone calls, it gained considerable attention when it aired in March. However, instead of enjoying his success, Njabulo was left disappointed when his agent vanished without paying him.
Njabulo’s struggle continued. He later landed another role in a TV commercial, but the payment was deposited to Joe Phiri of JP Casting. To this day, Njabulo has not received a cent. He also appeared in a film called “The Gift”, but his payment was once again mismanaged. The casting agency, Mamello Casting, took the entire payment, leaving Njabulo with only a taxi fare.
Many people in the comments section expressed their dismay over Njabulo’s experiences. One commenter said, “I swear having a reliable agent is really such a flex because wow”. Another added, “This is terrible. More so because this is a common practice”.
According to Backstage, the best way to determine if a casting agency is legit is to visit their website, social media pages, IMDb, or any other links showing evidence of their past work. While confidentiality is sometimes a concern for serious casting directors, they should have no issue providing you with plenty of information to confirm their legitimacy. Scammers will sometimes use the names of real people and real companies. They may even link to the real websites of the people they are pretending to be. But if you check the scammer’s email address, phone number, and project details against the details of the real people, you’ll find they don’t match up.
Njabulo, who is also now a writer, producer, and director for major shows like Imbewu, Shaka ILembe, Savage Beauty S1 & 2, and Reyka S1 & 2, offered advice to fellow actors on finding trustworthy agencies.
He recommended visiting www.thepma.co.za to find a list of reliable agencies and www.oscasa.com for background acting opportunities. He emphasized the importance of training, whether formal or informal and encouraged actors to attend workshops and masterclasses to improve their skills.
Njabulo’s story is a warning about the importance of finding trustworthy agents in the entertainment industry and shows that new actors need more support and protection.